Two Towns, One Army (Harvest Moon Love & War)
by Frogsnack
Summary: Phillip and twin sister Lillian are forced to fight for opposite sides in the war that divided a mountain. Who will help them unite the paradise that despite everything, they've come to love and believe in? Lillian and Cam or Kana? Phillip and Laney or Georgia? If you ship some other couple, comment- I may just do something about it!
1. Prologue: Bloodfeud

_Author's Note;_

_This is my first fanfic, so I'd appreciate any comments that come in. If there are characters you'd like to hear more about (just TOTT, please), let me know. Right now this is Phillip and Lillian's story, but I want to show everyone's individual motivations and more about the other villagers. It's not filler, I promise you. Also- and this is important- tell me who you ship! I've put in the description that Phillip will go with Laney or Georgia, but that doesn't have to happen. I said Lillian would be with either Kana or Cam- but who knows! Your opinions can change my mind, especially as I'm just writing this according to everyone's reactions to what's happening around them, so a lot may change!_

_Please stay tuned and tell me what you think._

_Also- I was inspired when I watched the video for Pretty Ore (By Celianna), then found her original here. I highly recommend it._

_Nice to meet you all!_

...

...

As it was told to the children of the following generations, the Battle of the Two Towns was a fable of mishap and misunderstanding, a cautionary tale of what could go wrong when mankind no longer loved his neighbor. It was the kind of story that was told differently in every household, according to their memoirs. It was a story that outsiders rarely understood but knew never to mention, and followed by an unspoken rule of non-interference.

But to the villagers who lived through it, who were there the day the final flood swept away the crops and the animals alike, whose parents, children and friends were buried in the mines when the earth shook, there was nothing more ghastly, nothing more harrowing, and nothing that could ever bring the towns back together again.

Modern rumors say everything was started with an argument about cuisine, but it was more about trust than anything. The crux of it was truly the nuances in the cooking- some people living in bamboo-rich Konohana had been for generations, lactose intolerant, while on the Bluebell side there was the occasional outbreak of salmonella from uncooked fish. As the two villages had once gracefully shared feasts and festivals, their limited resources, differences in tastes and culture proved to truly be the rice stalk that crashed the pony cart.

The true rift formed as the villages gathered at the end of a certain season for a traditional moon viewing, when a young child nearly died of food poisoning from sushi made from a not so fresh fish. Perhaps unfairly, Konohana was blamed. Although the dish had been prepared by a young Bluebeller who had in fact learned to make sashimi from someone on the greener side, the kind intent of the trainer was lost in error of bad preparation. Several from the Bluebell side claimed that Konohana had no awareness of the danger of their way of cooking and furthermore implied that they were unfit to even teach it to other people. Things escalated further in the next joint holiday, when an embittered old Bluebell native developed milk curry, which over half of the Konohana villagers were unable to eat. For Konohana, who had practically invented curry, the development of milk curry was a slap-in-the-face styled assault with dairy products.

The next few joint town events were either scarcely attended (which was embarrassing for the organizing mayors), or came to blows (which did a great deal in solidifying the dispute, but were said to have been very satisfying for those who were victims of the various food poisonings that were now becoming commonplace). It wasn't until events unique to each town were desecrated by vandals or interrupted by insurgents from across the mountain that things became truly violent- Nobody wanted their newly-ribboned prize cow to be pelted with turnips, or their crop fields to be invaded by trampling sheep and gnawing cows, but it happened anyways.

Eventually blows became armed militias policing events and villagers traveling at their own risk to the other side. The tunnel mine became a primary battleground as it was the fastest way across and left the town who didn't control its entrances the most vulnerable to attack and raid. Mayors fueled the rivalry by fighting over the only pass that lead into the mountains and to both towns, where they would kidnap visitors and force them to their village to fight.

Where was the Harvest Goddess in all this? She had taken up travel that year (word has it she went Dun DUN DUNNN 500,000 steps or so) and came back to a forlorn, forgotten church (her clergy having been run off for trying to stop the fighting) and a mountain of destruction, where the paths were strewn with stolen crops and stranded chickens and the occasional corpse could be seen stuck in the thick tree roots at the bottom of the river. The lake at the summit was nearly forgotten as sacred ground in those days and she found herself forgotten and even… lonely.

She grieved at the negligence of the villagers and bemoaned the tattered state of her vast forest and weakened farmlands. She walked the mountain at all hours of the night, howling in pain at the blood that had been shed while she journeyed. It is said that her cries so scared the creatures of the mountain that even the wolves ran in fear, never to be seen from again.

Upon her dissent from the mountain the Harvest Goddess tied up her long flowing peridot locks into two wide buns, to remind herself to never forget that there were two very torn apart towns that she had to stand between and bring together. She buried their feud in the tunnel and washed the dead away in a flash flood, forbidding the mayors from making offerings at her spring.

It was not until several generations later that the origin of the hatred began to fade into a distant memory, dusty records kept in neat shelves behind the welcome counter of a brightly-lit town hall, wardened by a Mayor who had never stepped foot beyond the summit or met the Harvest Goddess, a mayor whose hatred of the other side was habitual, and though real, wasn't founded.

Into this world rode twins Lillian and Phillip, arriving with just a tiny cart and a dream. The wind was at their backs and the smell of fresh dew in the air around them, they truly believed they had found a paradise.


	2. Chapter 2: Awkward Angles

The sun shown in glorious rays from rain-drenched woodlands as the little ashen pony galloped along the wooded paths. There were no sounds other than the shaking leaves and ripples of the few remaining droplets on the water, and the creaking of four little wooden wheels: the rain had finally ceased.

From her nest in the back of their little hobbled- together cart, Lillian smiled and stretched her arms gratefully, peeling the dew-covered burlap away from her- itching where it had stuck to her bare feet. She vaguely wondered where her shoes had gone off to, but the breeze felt too good and the rocking of the cart made her wish she could stay asleep for hours. The sun started to warm her and she could hear a few birds chirping in the distance, it was all she could do to raise her eyebrows slightly when her brother called over his shoulder from the front.

"Lil? You awake?"

She peeked an eye open and was blinded by a shot of sunlight from far above the green canopy. "…yes?" Her voice was hoarse from lack of use.

"Liar." He muttered. "Are you looking out for landmarks? You're the navigator!" His voice competed with the soft turning of wooden wheels and the wind that rushed past them feeling oh, so good on her face.

She blinked. "I'm sorry, what did you just say?"

"I said landmarks!" He increased the volume of his voice.

"What kind of-"

"You know- the path is supposed to diverge, but before that there's an abandoned lodge and some kind of natural landmark-"

Her light hair whipped in front of her face as she stuck her body over the edge of the cart, trying to see past the ponie's backside and her brother's head. Why was she the navigator when he was the one who could see everything? Was she supposed to tell him what they had already passed? She rolled her eyes skyward.

That didn't make any sense.

Finally as she squinted something stood out on the path ahead. "Like what- those rocks on the path?"

"No-?" He turned back to look at her in confusion, his auburn hair flying into his cool gray eyes as he rode. Did he heard her right?

"The rocks- look out, idiot!"

He whipped his head back around in time to see a series of boulders blocking the path on the right side, and twisted the reigns around to the left just in time for the pony to evade and nearly send the cart flying into the trees banking that side.

"Lil! Hold on!" He yelled, increasing the galloping speed a bit to have more momentum to clear the rocks, he only had half the pathway to navigate in and didn't have anything to use to unwedge a stuck wheel. He was not about to slow down and risk losing his only chance to get past the roadblock.

He heard little hiccups in his sister's voice from the cart behind him as she tried to convince him otherwise.

"You- your Cra-z-zzy!" Her voice bumped with the cart as they began to get around and over the impasse.

He smiled a little at that, being careful not to lose focus on what he was doing. Phillip prided himself on being able to get through things like this. Of the two twins, he had the advantage of impulsivity, where as his flaxen-haired sister Lillian was better at planning things in advance and not so great on the spot. Sometimes they joked that they were each half of a functioning human being.

The sound of his sister freaking out in the back of the cart right now really drove that point home. When was she going to grow up? Everything would be fine in like, five minutes.

He turned back to the task at hand and said a few words under his breath to the little pony they had rented for the journey. What was her name again- who cares? He was just going to call her whatever he felt like, anyways. "Sorry girl." He said to her, patting her rump. "But you still need to go a bit faster!"

Her brother was crazy. Insane. Did I capitalize that? She wondered to herself. Yeah, Insane with a capital 'I'. That works. He was actually spurring the poor beast on on this slick forest path, to get around some jagged rocks? Had she not just told him he was touched in the head?

And it made him go faster still. She squeezed her eyes shut and hoped for a reality check for him, and soft landing for her- she was sure any minute now she'd be thrown from the cart and flying through the air-

Yup, just like that.

The cart had been traveling at breakneck speed and was mostly clear of the obstruction, but as fate would have it a thick, rotting log jutted out from the other side of the path and they had too much momentum to stop in time to walk the cart around it or move it out of the way. Lillian frantically grabbed for anything that would anchor her to the cart and ended up with the burlap cover and- was that one shoe?

And she went flying well over her brother's side and into the woods.

Phillip had braced for the impact and just caught sight of her as she took to the air, their eyes met for a half second and he saw the terror there, then she was gone over the side of long, sloping ledge. He had no more time to think or say anything as the pony jerked forward and sent him to the ground at an awkward angle, his leg nearly crushed under her weight and his body thrown to into the rocks.

The trees rustled overhead and closed over the path in a sudden gust of spring wind.

How long had it been since he'd passed out?

Phillip awoke with a strange tingling in his right shoulder and slightly blurred vision. The path had gotten darker, much darker and the pony was nowhere to be seen, having taken the splintered remains of their little cart with it. Little pieces of their few belongings had found been dashed along the rocks that blocked the path, and could barely be seen going off into the distance, lit only by a few rays of early moonlight peeking from overhead.

He spent a moment in dazed confusion, trying to get his bearings and failing. What had just happened…?

_Right. Lil and I were on our way to the mountain villages… Did we go too far? She wasn't really navigating, but we… I made it past the small landslide and outcropping of rocks…_

Suddenly he felt as if a nightmare had woke him, and he jolted upright- looking in all directions, and wincing in the pain coming from his shoulder and legs.

"Lil!?" He called out, panic lacing an edge into his young voice. His call was greeted by the flight of a flock of small sparrows overhead from the line of trees jutting out against the side of the dirt road. His mind went racing and again, he got up too fast- this time to his feet. He had expected the pain, and withstood it silently, grinding his teeth.

_How far has she been thrown?_

His gray eyes scanned over the path ahead, it was sloping downwards a little bit and the ledge to the left went down for meters, off into the darkness. _Where should I start looking?_

"Lillian! Lil- where are you?! Call if you can hear me!"

He waited for several heartbeats; a bead of sweat raced down the corner of his neck and ran under the collar of his light travel vest, making him shiver. It was still a bit cold from the bitter winter, and he noticed the air was thinner on the mountain.

Or was he breathing too fast and going to hyperventilate?

_How long until I find her? _His mind began to overwhelm him with questions. _Are there wild animals? Is she in danger from them?_ _Why can't she answer me- did she pass out like I did?_

"Lillian! Lilly!" At the top of his lunges he yelled.

The faint howling of an owl brought him back to reality and he realized that none of his questions mattered right now. He remembered the terror on Lillian's face, her violet colored eyes wide in shock, with fear. He chose to focus on her face in his mind.

No matter what was going on, he was going to find her. He made his way down the slope to the left and started to navigate the forest.

It was then that he heard something else, something that was in direct contrast to the soft rustling of the evening leaves and the owl in the background.

Voices.


	3. Chapter 3: Fire and Stormclouds

For some reason (probably instinct) Phillip found himself ducking into the underbrush as they approached the pathway. He chastised himself immediately for being rash.

_It will look weird now if I just come bounding out of the bushes…_

"Here it is all right. What Enrique saw. Somebody wrecked their cart." A deep male tone broke into the quiet rustling of leaves.

"It does pay to have somebody scout from time to time. Do you think it was one o' them? They wouldn't dare come this close to our side after what happened last week." Said a girl. Her voice was thick with bitterness and a hint of an… accent?

"Hmm," said the first voice, which belonged to a man with a very imposing figure. "Well he said there was a person out here and he didn't have anything to carry him on. Not that I think he would've done it for free. We'd better start looking. The sooner we get them off this mountain the safer we'll all be. Georgia?"

"You don't have to tell me." Said the girl. "I'll have 'em found and in Bluebell a'fore that fool on the other side can even tie on his chaps and come ridin' to meet us!"

The man's figure laced his hands together and laughed quietly. That must have been what he wanted to hear. The effect was kind of creepy on someone of his stature, and Phillip again was at a loss. Should he come out, or…?

Georgia, the girl with the accent, wasted no time. She'd been leading a mid-sized horse while the group approached and was in the saddle in a flash. The animal snorted proudly, as if ready to go with her to the ends of the earth. "I'm worried for their animal, too. I reckon it spooked and runoff. Score another creature for the right side If'n we can find it. Or the rider."

She raised the reigns to command the horse, but stopped short, staring.

Phillip had heard enough. These people were all he might see out here, and he needed help. They were prepared to search for him, help him. They might have an idea about Lillian or the resources to get her out of here in one piece. If she couldn't respond she was out cold, like he had been. She could even possibly… well possibly nothing. He wasn't going to let himself think that way. Sure, it had been a surprise the way they appeared, but they said it was unsafe on the mountain and they were worried for his horse. Wasn't that enough?

He tried to swallow his doubts, but a lump formed in his throat. There was something about the way they'd worded it…

_Too bad! Just tell them you need help finding your sister…_ The young traveler massaged his shoulders and took a weary step out into the clearing.

Three pairs of eyes stared back at him. The large, very blond male raised his eyebrows, looking almost… bemused at the sight of the new stranger.

The tall, spindly young man who had said nothing through the whole thing had almost no expression on his face, not even boredom. Resignation? Indifference? Phillip couldn't tell what is was. He had an air of disappointment about him. He hid narrow eyes under a deceptively cheerful looking and stylish purple hat and continued in his habit of non-involvement through complete silence.

It was the girl that reacted the most at Phillip's sudden appearance. Possibly because she had been seconds away from galloping off and prepared for action, but whatever the reason she immediately launched herself in his direction and he found himself in a choke hold with a blade pressed against his neck.

_Where did she get a knife from, her saddlebag maybe...?_

He half stepped, half stumbled back a bit in surprise and nearly tripped over her feet, wincing when her fingers dug into his shoulder from behind to keep him standing.

"Who are ya?" She demanded, her accent sharp in his ears. "I ain't messin' around! You out here spyin' in our lands? Konohana sent ya, right?! Yer a little too close to the border for my liking!"

The blade was cold to his neck and Phillip instantly regretted his decision to appear to the group. He stammered to come up with an answer, all the while scanning the faces around him in confusion. "That was my, our cart-"

"OUR cart?" She bit out. 'Ya mean you are from that sushi-smellin', backwords arsed-"

The man in the hat stepped forward and shook his head slightly at Georgia, whose red hair was flipping around in the wind, some even into Phillip's face as he stood, wide-eyed, not wanting to make a move. The sky above was darkening and although there was no rainfall now, it seemed there might be soon? The chill in the air was still very much alive and moving over them as they stood on the weary mountain path. Maybe that impending fact had not escaped her notice either, and was why she had stopped her ranting in mid-sentence.

Then he realized the quiet one had signaled her to stop. Did that mean he was in charge here? He looked too young for that, but his eyes were...

"Georgia, he's been hurt. Look at his arm." The guy said, snapping Phillip back into the moment at hand.

Phillip didn't have to look to know it was messed up. What had been a dull ache became more acute with the sudden movements of the last few minutes. He suddenly became aware that what he thought was a drop of sweat rolling under his collar earlier could have just as easily been blood. He couldn't feel too well on that side. If that was from adrenaline, strain or actual injury, he couldn't tell. There were more important things going on, and at least his vision, though still blurry, wasn't getting worse.

He turned his attention to the tall guy in the hat, who looked just a few years older than him and pondered. Although he was obviously a quiet person he sure had plenty of calm authority about him to make a girl like this shut her mouth without speaking a single word.

The girl- her hair was just like her personality, wasn't it? Fiery and unforgiving, tamed not even by the nature around them, the whipping wind or the suspended rain caught in rolling turmoil in the tear-stained sky above them. For a fleeting moment he pictured her, standing here even in the middle of a torrential downpour, stopped by nothing and no one and suppressed a shiver. _But wait… did she just say Konohana sent him? Did that mean these were the villagers, from the other town? What had they called it?_

"A-are you all from Bluebell?" He ventured, addressing them for the first time.

They said nothing, but her small blade loosened considerably from his neck. Her eyebrows rose in suspicion. "Are you really pretendin' not to know, now?"

"I- I don't really know what's going on." Phillip began. "I am traveling into the mountain, I mean we were-my sister and I were- she was thrown from the cart." He started to shake from shock and a bit of anger at what was going on. "We were on our way to see the local villages; we're just doing research for our own sake, not for anyone from a fish loving…" He trailed off, not being able to remember what she has said in her moments of accusatory anger.

Georgia saw that he wasn't going to fight with her and dropped the knife from his neck, shoving him about a foot away from her. She regarded him coolly, not ready to believe him.

"Who cares where it is, can you help my find my sister?!" He interrupted his own train of thought. "She's not answering when I call her name, and I don't know how long I had passed out for." There was desperation, now in him as he spoke. "She could be fine, she could be just knocked out, she could… could be…ugh." He buried his face in his hands and choked on the last word, nobody could make out what it was he had said.

It was in that one instant the expression changed on Georgia's face from suspicious rage to one of concern. Before she could think about what she was doing, she had taken a step towards the young newcomer only to jump back again in surprise when he exploded out with, "And if you delay my search for even one more second I swear I will do everything in my power to make you regret it!"

She stared at him, dumbfounded, arm still half outstretched.

The tall, imposing man laughed and his enourmous shoulders shook. Even the quiet guy smiled a bit, tilting his hat more over his eyes with his hand. "He got you there, Geo." He told her simply. "I guess the element of surprise can work both ways."

"Shut yer face, Cam." She hissed under her breath, recovering quickly, which only served to establish a real smile on his face.

Cam walked passed the redhead, whose hands were clenched in fists at her side, her eyes staring hard at the ground.

He reached out to pat the boy's shoulder. "Sorry for the misunderstanding. We can definitely help you look for her. "I'm Cam, by the way. Short for Kamil. I know you've met Georgia- Geo to her friends-" She looked up sharply at the idea of this boy every being her friend but was ignored- "And this is Howard."

"Nice to meet you. Ask me anything." The older, huger man quipped congenially.

Phillip glared at the group silently for a moment and shrugged the older boy's hand off his shoulder. "I'm Phillip." He muttered.

"Phillip," Cam repeated. "And who are we looking for?"

"Lillian", Phillip said again, an edge in his voice. "My sister, Lillian."

Cam smiled, this time to himself. "Like the flower…" He said.


	4. Chapter 4: Run For It

Chapter 4: Run for it

It had easily been another hour, but Phillip couldn't tell for sure how long. The owl hadn't called again and aside from some rustling and whipping wind, there were not many other sounds. As they searched and he called out, he became more desperate to find her, thinking that by now she could even be… again he tried hard not to picture it. His only family, his twin sister, passed out in a river, drowning as her body was carried lifelessly downstream. Or bleeding and broken from injury, her life spilling out onto the grass as her bright lilac eyes dimmed and glazed over, left open forever... _Don't picture it_. He again admonished silently. "I'm so sorry Lil…" He muttered under his breath as they searched. "I should've slowed down and listened to you."

The petite red-headed girl rode slightly ahead of where he and Howard walked, as Cam had taken a different approach to the search, weaving into the forest when he could to get a better view through the thick, dark leaves. The young man was confident and focused in looking, and it quickly became obvious that he did want to help. Philip would have been grateful for this, if he could think of anything other than Lillian's safety right now.

Cam seemed to know the woods well, and often times would take a side path that veered in the opposite direction from the group, only to have circled back around later and rejoined them. Each time he did this Phillip looked over expectantly, only to have the young man's head shake slightly from side to side.

Howard, whose imposing figure made him easily the strongest of the four, was the most reluctant to actually enter the forest. He carried a tall walking stick as if he'd been hiking leisurely before the search began, but he stayed on the path and scanned the trees as the young men dashed around, looking like some kind of vanguard. Phillip stayed far away from him, again on an instinct that the very large, very blond, and very made-up looking man was set on edge, unpredictable. It didn't help that above his jutting masculine jaw there was a bright ribbon of red lipstick over thin, middle-aged lips and surrounded by a half day's stubble.

There would've been moonlight to see by were the sky clear as the moon waxed overhead, but it danced in and out of the imposing clouds above in a mockery of its position as the surrogate sun. When it did show through, gracing the path with illumination, the canopy would close and the trees would stand in attention, blocking its effect while the group searched. It was as if the entire mountain didn't want her to be found.

Through all this Georgia remained icy silent, her demeanor matching the rolling black clouds overhead. While they looked the road began to slope downwards, and Phillip once again had had enough.

"We've got to turn back. She must be in the other direction." He said desperately to Cam after the he had come down from a high embankment of trees and once again shook his head.

The young man just looked at him, jaw set and said nothing, green eyes flashing. Ahead, the redhead kept her horse at a steady pace.

Phillip stopped walking, not willing to go further. "She isn't this way. I need to go back."

Cam stopped walking too, but was immediately corrected by Howard, who placed a firm hand on the young man's neck and pushed him forward by it. "You know the rules, Cam." He said coldly. "Keep moving. We're almost there."

Cam smiled without humor as if he'd expected the correction, but remained silent, beginning to walk forward again.

All at once Phillip got a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

They were helping him search, right?

It had been a while since they'd seen any leftover pieces of the cart or other indications of the pony's flight after the crash, and the fork in the road the twins were looking for had been passed a long time ago. The group had opted to go right at the fork and down the mountain. But what if Lillian had recovered, gone for help, or been throw more to the left?

He couldn't leave it alone. Phillip was becoming convinced that they were on the wrong path, traveling further and further away from her, and the odd behavior and uneasiness of everyone in the group told him that more was going on than they were going to tell him.

The young traveler stared at them as they kept their pace without him, his gray eyes narrowing in thought. He nearly turned to run back up the mountain alone, but something told him he was supposed to go with the group quietly. What made him feel that way? He wasn't a hostage here, was he?

His dizziness had passed, and although he had no desire to be stranded out here alone again, all he could think of was that Lil shouldn't have to be, either.

Quietly he took a few steps back, although Howard was only a pace or two ahead and seemed to be moving slower to allow him to catch up.

_That's not going to happen_, he thought, the hair on his neck prickling up. It was now or never and he knew it.

_Just a few more steps back, then I'm gonna turn and run for it!_

As he was falling back and trying to find a good part of the forest to melt into and double back before he could be pursued, Howard stopped walking entirely. His big body turned back towards Phillip, beady mascara-framed eyes boring into his.

Phillip felt like he had been struck, but the man just laced his hands together politely. "Phillip, I know you're concerned for your sister, but the mountain isn't a safe place for you. We can resume our search in the morning." His tone was patient, and made Phillip's breath catch in his throat.

"Well I appreciate what you've done so far, but I'm going back." He said firmly.

Howard whistled a signal for Georgia to halt her horse, and Cam turned back to look, his expression indifferent.

"I know it's getting colder and the mountain could have dangerous wild animals. You've all helped me out a lot already; I can't impose on you for further when you all want to return home. I'm thankful that you lended your support so far." He directed his eyes mostly at Cam, who was the only person to actually help. "But I have no intention of waiting to search in the morning. From here on out I will go and search for her myself."

And he turned on his heel to stalk into the darkness, praying that no one took it upon themselves to follow. There was something about this situation that was wrong; he'd started to feel like they were herding him somewhere. He tried to control his pace against the rapid kicks of panic that were coursing through him, his heart beating madly in his ears.

Once again, the red head was the fastest to react, swinging the nose of her mare around swiftly and pushing her towards the back of the group where everyone had stopped, listening to the newcomer's announcement.

Phillip, who was preparing himself mentally to have to escape from Howard's grasp, lost all shred of the dignity of just walking away and at the sound of hooves on sodden dirt coming from behind, launched himself for the bushes in a strong sprint.

He almost made it on time.

Georgia -hair flashing wildly in the tiny breaks of moonlight- had beaten him to the edge of the tree line with three few bounds of her mare's powerful legs. The animal regarded him coolly with dark eyes and tossed her mane, blocking the way back up the mountain with another snort. She patted the mare's flank out of habit in reward.

Phillip feinted to the right, the horse moved with him. He dodged to the left, again she kept up. He stopped trying to get around and tensed, expecting at any moment for the girl to attack him again.

"Howard said we can't go back." She said as if it was the law. "I recon you don't know us all that well, but we aren't going to leave you out here and just go walkin' back. We can't." The look she gave him was still icy, but with a hint of a reason.

"It's my decision to make." He growled at her. "Now MOVE!" In a moment that caught her by surprise, he picked up a long wooden switch from the ground and snapped its leafless end at the horse, striking her smartly on the side.

The mare reared up- and as a testament to her skill Georgia kept saddled without even holding on to the reigns- but even she couldn't keep the beast from jolting off down the path as she struggled for control. "No- girl- Dakota!" She admonished as the animal fled.

Not willing to run any longer, Phillip whirled back to face Howard and Cam. "Anyone else that doesn't want to actually help us had better try to stop me right now." He challenged.


	5. Chapter 5: Konohana Clinic

The spring winds carried leaves throughout the village, chasing petals over the fields and dropping them into the silent creek that ran through it without complaint. To the south of the stream an orchard showcased the best fruit trees that Konohana had to offer, it was a testament to the hard working patience that characterized this place and people so well that they produced fruit in any season. Mako, the one-eyed and gruff owner of the orchard, had never told anyone his secret of the full bloom, so his personal trees were the only ones that did that.

Standing on the lone bridge that spanned the creek was the mayor's son, a small boy of about nine years old who had been put out of the house to get some exercise before it was time to take up study. Rahi had paused on the red cedar bridge, taking in the view of the sakura blossoms before having to go back inside. He wondered what Ying was up to, and if today would be any different from all the other day's he'd come to expect in town.

A part of him loved his peaceful life, packed with days of walking the town and playing with the tiny pink-clad girl who had been sent here by her parents for her health. She often had trouble breathing if startled and he worried when he was unable to see her- even their play was simple games and involved no running. He longed to go and pick her some flowers- she loved sending them to her parents- but didn't dare leave the security provided by their northern border. Besides, Gombe would be outside this time of day and would stop him if he tried getting past. It was one of the reasons that his shop was so far out of the main village, after all.

Rahi scratched an itch on his raven head and wondered if Kana could take him. They couldn't go far- Konohana had lost the last cooking contest and with it the rights to forage the heights for the week. If they were seen too close to the summit it could be trouble. The villages were still very much at war with each other, but the current mayors had actually done a lot to channel the anger of the past into competitions like the cooking contest.

Still, Kana had promised to take him riding, and the mountain was the best place to do that.

Rahi shivered in a gust of wind and wondered how long it had been since there was a death from the conflict. A few years? He didn't remember it too well. But he knew that his mother Ina had taken it upon herself to end the bloodshed. Did it have something to do with his father's disappearance? He thought so- usually she was straightforward with her only son who was to be mayor himself one day- but what had happened to his dad was and off-limits topic. He sighed, wondering if Ying missed her parents more than he missed his father.

Absentmindedly his thoughts turned to the new arrival, his eyes scanning over the clinic across the road where she was taken. It had been days since her accident, and she still wasn't ready to leave their care yet. He wondered if she had been injured by a patrol from Bluebell, trying to steal her from her journey through the mountains. If she didn't wake up… the countdown for the amount of days that had passed without a death in the conflict had to be reset again.

He shook his head. This is exactly the sort of thinking that made everybody tell him he was too mature for his age.

...

Lillian blinked away a tear from slumber and stirred- her muscles feeling for all the world like taut bowstrings, ready to explode with action. She took a deep breath and ventured to sit up a bit, her head aching dully as the sunlight streamed onto her bed. From where she reclined she could see the dark tousled head of a young male nurse, who was manning the front desk.

That was a guy, wasn't it? He was probably just very young, or had short parents? Hard to tell. She groaned a bit, stretching her arms above her head carefully.

At the sound from the ward behind him, the young man turned his head and abruptly got up from the chair. "Dr. Ayame!" He called someone she couldn't see.

Lillian raised her eyebrows at his reaction. _He'll make a great Doctor one day, if he pays this much attention to people_… she thought suddenly.

Then a second thought hit her. How did she know he was a nurse, that this was a clinic? Had she been here long?

She bolted upright in bed and the young nurse was at her side to support her, but she waved away his concern. "Be careful." He said quickly. "You've been asleep for nearly a week."

Her amethyst eyes went wide. "A week…" She repeated, testing the word in her mouth. _What about_… "Phillip?"

He blinked in confusion. "Phillip? Pardon me Miss, but is that a…person, by any chance?" He shook his head slightly as a woman in a billowing white coat and wearing a stethoscope rounded the corner to join them.

"Kana found you off the mountain path when he was out patrolling. You were the only person there." She said, eyebrows raised. "Were you with someone?"

Lillian's face fell visibly and she stared at the two, not understanding. "He's…" Hiro searched her eyes-

"My brother."

Hiro looked away, in thought (or was it to avoid having to face her?). "He's probably in Bluebell, an entire mountain away. I doubt they'll ever release him." He said quietly.

He stood up from her side and she shot an arm out, pulling him back down to her. He winced. "What do you mean, what makes you say something like that!?" She demanded, her voice pleading.

Ayame stepped in then. "Hiro, give us a moment alone, please. I can't have you scaring the poor kid."

Hiro nodded and walked back to the counter, pretending to organize some paperwork, but it was like he didn't know what to do with his hands. He tried not to listen to their conversation, not wanting to be impolite. He gripped his arm where she had, remembering the force of her feelings.

Ayame pulled up a stool and sat down next to the young girl, whose face was now stricken with worry.. "Let's start over, kiddo. I'm Doctor Ayame. You are at the Konohana clinic; it's the sixth day of Spring. Now," she smiled delicately, "Who are you?"

"Lillian." The girl said, not knowing where to go from here.

…

Later on Rahi was lost in reverie, as Ying chatted with him outside the teahouse. Something out of the ordinary caught his eye and he turned to look. It was the new girl- finally leaving the clinic. Hiro apparently was going to act as a guide and he took her arm in his, pointing at different sites around the village. They started to walk together, but the girl looked exhausted. She should be up and moving, in that state?

Rahi frowned that Hiro was acting so friendly. They still didn't know what the young traveler had come here for. Wasn't it too early to treat her as part of the village?

It had been about a week since she arrived and although people were curious, it just wasn't in Konohana's nature to ask a lot of questions. Just because everyone maintained polite composure around here didn't mean they should throw caution to the wind and let just anybody in. Knowing his mom though, she'd want the girl to stay and help them. He sighed.

Ying hugged her plush panda bear tightly to her chest and her quiet voice broke his concentration. "Rahi… is that…"

"Yeah." He said. "I think her name is Lillian."

"She's… pretty." The girl smiled timidly, as if afraid to voice her opinions out loud.

He looked at her, wondering if she knew how pretty _she_ was, and didn't say anything. He turned back to Hiro and the newcomer.

After a moment of watching them silently, he finally got up and dusted off his pants from where they sat. "Well I'd better go tell my mom. Say hi to grandma Yun for me."

Again the smile. "I will." She promised.

…

The Konohana villagers were pretty nice, Lillian thought. A bit quiet, but nice. Hiro had taken her around for the afternoon and introduced her at the shops and as it turned out there were a lot of people here her age. Even now, her arm was in his and she let him lead her around, feeling more exhausted than should be possible for someone who had just been asleep for days.

She wondered if she would be able to remember anybody's name, with the way her mind was swimming.

Ayame had told her about the other village, about the conflict. She explained that they were still in danger of being raided any time, and just because it hadn't happened in a while didn't mean it wouldn't. She talked about the curfew and patrolling, about how everyone her age shared the responsibility of joining the reserve army, but she didn't know what Mayor Ina would have planned for someone who wasn't born here.

Lillian had listened, but didn't understand. These people were so nice, but the way even soft-spoken Hiro had talked, the edge that creeped up in the Doctor's voice when she discussed the rival village… she didn't see how it could be so bad as they had made it out to be.

Things like, "If you meet someone from Bluebell, don't get close to them- get away quickly or come find help."

"If we win the cooking festival the mountain is ours, which means we'll need more people on patrol to protect us while we forage."

And the confusing "Never travel the mountain alone, you don't know where they'll be, some of them can even control the animals."

Saying things like this just served to make her more and more confused. Did she hear it correctly that they went to the cooking contest as a way to alleviate tension so that bloodshed was limited?

_If they want to eliminate bloodshed, why do they need an army?_

She shook her head to clear it. Across the main path was a girl her age in a pink kimono, watering her field. The girl looked up and Hiro waved to her. She smiled and bowed lightly back to him.

"How are you feeling?" Inquired Hiro, still supporting her arm in a gentlemanly way after showing her how the request board worked. One would think from his demeanor that he could never fight anyone.

"Do you- are you part of the army?" She asked him quietly.

He straightened his back and his brown eyes became serious. "I certainly am. They need a medic like me on patrol." He shrugged and smiled after saying it though, and the effect of his seriousness was nearly lost. She couldn't stifle her giggle.

His smile spread to his whole face. "Is that amusing to you? I'll have you know that I am not be underestimated!" and he posed with a clenched fist. She let go of his arm to cover her laugh this time.

"I-I'm sorry, it's just- The thought of- you seem way too nice for that." She said apologetically.

His face became serious again, this time with more meaning. "Well, I am a man after all. If I don't protect my village and the people that I love, who is going to?" His eyes found hers and held them for a brief moment, sending the point home. Her heartbeat quickened before he looked away again.

And just like that she started to understand. Had this boy- even a guy as kind as this- also lost someone dear?

What about Phillip, was she supposed to count him as lost? Ayame had acted as if she were talking to a new recruit, and Lillian wasn't about to go and start fighting people she'd never met, for more people she'd barely met!

"You have a hidden strength, don't you?" She asked Hiro honestly, and he turned his head away, a hint of color on his cheeks.

"Everyone can learn to be strong. It isn't some sort of talent or anything." It took Lillian a second to realize that he had brushed away her compliment. She wondered if she had made him uncomfortable.

Before she could ask him a woman in red approached, and Hiro waved to her too.

The woman didn't wave back, just stopped in front of them and put her hands on her hips, regarding the young couple.

Hiro held out his hand, palm up to the woman and turned to Lillian. He smiled again. "This is our Mayor, Ina."

Ina nodded and said plainly, "Rahi came along and told me you were awake and walking around town. Lillian, is it?"

Lillian nodded, not sure how to take her abruptness. Suddenly the woman threw her head back to laugh as if she thought of something extremely funny. "Well, let's get you to your new farm!" She exclaimed.

_Wait… farm?_

"You must be mistaken, I came here to-"She began, but Ina grabbed her hand and tore her away from Hiro's side, yelling over her shoulder. Thank you, Hiro! Have a good afternoon!"

"Stay healthy." He greeted back, his quiet voice nearly lost in the distance. It sounded like there had been more he wanted to say.


	6. Chapter 6: Kana's First Day of Spring

Hayate pawed the ground with her hoof and neighed, tossing her head as if yelling at him. "Well what was I supposed to do about it?" The tall young man asked his prize horse seriously. "She wasn't even awake; I wasn't going to leave her there for the wild animals. And I couldn't leave her to the milk-hounds; they were all over the mountain after that!" Kana gritted his teeth and remembered that night a week ago.

Again, the hoof hit the ground with a snort. Hayate had had a hard time carrying two people back after they'd found her, so Kana ended up walking in front, and the horse had treated him differently even since that day. She was mad because nobody was allowed to ride her but him. But this had been an emergency; he wished he could make her understand.

It was dusk and blistery the first day of Spring, and he couldn't wait to get into the saddle to feel the power beneath him, the wind on his face.

He had been charged with patrol. Even though Konohana had lost control of the mountain top, they weren't about to let anyone from Bluebell closer to their side than absolutely necessary. He had been leading Hayate through the low and mid mountain areas, not wanting to venture too close to the summit and overstep their fragile treaty.

Still, it had bothered him, what if they did come closer than usual? One of their natives had been injured in a scuffle the previous week (well, injured by Kana's own spear, actually) and even though he had acted to defend the danger to his horse he felt that more retribution was likely.

Again, the hoof stomped. Hayate was also mad that he wasn't taking her riding as often lately, but he was concerned for her safety, too. He waited for her to calm down before beginning the older mare's morning grooming routine, thinking again about the girl they had found near the waterfall.

Kana's mind had been on the task at hand, but he would've had to be blind to miss it.

A girl's shoe, sitting freshly muddy in the middle of the path.

Stopping to look around, he wondering how a thing like that had just appeared- it definitely wasn't there yesterday- and saw another odd thing on an old tree down the embankment to his side.

Something was draped on it, dark and rippling slightly in the heavy wind, but it was hard to tell what exactly. It was like a blanket or a tarp of some sort? His eyes followed the trail from the shoe to the tree, the broken branches below the blanket that were peppering the ground, and finally to the small figure curled up at the river's edge.

He leapt off Hayate and jumped down the ridge, ending a long drop with a slide where the embankment sloped- he had known this ravine his entire life- and was at her side.

A young girl lay in a fetal position, bleeding from a dozen small gashes and wounds on her arms, her head, across her chest and stomach, everywhere. Her top and jeans were torn, her hair in complete disarray, but she was alive. Her small chest rose once and filled him with relief. He did not want to see another body on this mountain again.

He leaned over and put his ear to her mouth, listening to her take in a shallow breath. She exhaled slowly and groaned and when his fingertips touched her shoulder, she made a face.

"Hey. Hey, girl?" He said softly, hand still resting lightly on her shoulder. "Did you fall from the path above? Can you answer me?"

No answer. He scratched his head, unsure of what to do next. "I can't just pick you up if you have a broken bone or something, yeah? How did you end up all the way down here?"

Was he talking to himself, or to her? Well, hearing a voice might bring her back to reality sooner, he decided. Besides, as a rancher he spent most of his days having one-on-one conversations with himself and his animals. He knew the effect just a calm voice could have on a creature.

How long had she laid here? His chestnut eyes searched the sky above as dark clouds began rolling overheard- it was hard to tell if it was going to rain soon or if it was dusk, playing tricks on his instincts. No way was going to finish his patrol on time now.

He turned back to her again. "I'm going to try and find out how bad this is- so I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable, okay?"

And he reached out, examining her wounds as best he could, gently gripping muscles or moving her arms and legs to see that nothing was broken. A couple of times she jerked when he touched her, and he'd immediately snap his hand back, heart beating, thinking he'd hurt her more.

Eventually he realized that the tree in some way had broken her fall, and although lumps were already forming in places that would carry large bruises, the biggest issue was the gash on her head. He knew she was concussed at least and if not already in some state of shock or going into a coma, time was of the essence and he was going to have to take her back to the clinic.

He looked around for options to get her there safely, and only had to really look up. The woven blanket still rippled in futility as if it were a sail on a half-sunken boat, being urged ahead by the trade winds and yet getting itself nowhere.

He climbed the tree in a few movements, his powerful arms launching himself into it without too much effort, and once there he worked to remove the blanket that was tangled in newly green-studded branches. It didn't take too long, but every moment felt like five. He knew the clock was ticking to get her the care she needed. But if something _was_ broken, and he just carelessly draped her over his lap and went riding off, he knew he would just make things worse for her.

Once he'd retrieved it, and landed with a small wet _thud_ on the ground below, then came over to where she lay on her side, once again noticing the gait of her breathing cycle. Very shallow. He carefully wrapped her in the material and lifted her off the ground, cradling her head in the crook of his neck. Her hair tickled his shoulder (he was actually a bit ticklish), but he ignored it and trekked back to the edge of the steep slope, where a change in tactics was needed.

He set her down again on the slope and prepared to switch the way he carried her, searching her face for changes and brushing her pale brown hair out of her eyes. She mumbled something when he set her down and though he listened, he was unable to make it out. Her lashes fluttered delicately and he realized he was just staring at her now.

He was grateful for a moment that no one was around to catch him staring and was not about admit he got distracted. It's not that she wasn't pretty…

_I don't have time for this. _He thought. _Focus, man!_

As he rearranged the blanket that covered her and hoisted her slowly over his back for a more effective rescue carry, he shrugged her head up over his shoulder on the other side, making a face where her hair again brushed his neck. This time the movement made her mutter more loudly, and as her lips parted she spoke a single name.

"…Phillip?" She managed to groan and whisper at the same time.

Phillip? Who was that?

"No- My name is Kana." He said as if she could hear him clearly. "I'm taking you back to the clinic in our village." He told her. "I promise you'll get there safely, so you take care of the resting part, yeah?"

And she sighed and relaxed against him as he walked. Had she heard him after all…?

He kept talking in an easy cadence the rest of the way, when he put her on Hayate and as they approached Gombe's perimeter and after that once they were in the town proper. He never knew if she had heard him, but he explained as much as he could without it being complicated- that she would be in the good Doctor Ayame's and Nurse Hiro's care for a while.

Kana went on to say that he would come daily to check on her, so she wouldn't be alone, and that he hoped for her sake she woke up soon. What else was there to say? Hayate occasionally snorted when he talked to her, as if the mare knew somehow that the girl was getting special treatment, but she would be over it soon, right?

As he left the bleeding girl with Hiro at the clinic (He'd had to wake everyone there), he circled back to his mare and wasted no time, heading back to the mountain to search for more clues. He knew her accident likely happened near the border between the towns, and there was a good chance that Bluebellers were all over the mountain already. He thought about swinging by Mako's place to get help on the rest of his patrol, but the man didn't have a horse that could match Hayate's speed, as old as she was, so he thought better of it.

Now as he brushed the dark- haired mare he'd grow up along side of, his thoughts turned to worry for the new girl for some reason. Probably she was only on his mind because he had been visiting her every morning after putting the horses out to pasture, and he hadn't had a chance to visit yet today. Her wounds had closed and were mostly a light pink, the bumps were receding, but whether she woke again up was a different matter entirely, and she had to have the will to live.

A part of him was afraid to keep visiting- he was getting a bit more attached than he'd like to admit and what if she wasn't long for the earth? It had looked like she had been dancing on the edge of not waking up for the last two days as it was. He'd seen it with animals all the time, ones that were newborn runts, or ones that were injured and he'd attempted to nurse back to health. Animals that should have been able to recover their strength gave up all the time.

_But, if it was my last day on Earth_, he thought again, _I'd want somebody to be at my bedside_, _bidding me farewell_.

So it was decided, he'd go and visit once more as soon as he was done with Hayate. It was an off day for his shop, anyways.


	7. Chapter 7: Just Looking

Lillian didn't realize the young nurses' presence had been so comforting until she was walking alone with the Mayor, who had a forceful personality, to say the least. Did she not realize how tightly she was gripping the young girl's arm?

Ina was talking excitedly, explaining what the village was like and how they had an extra farm right by the border that she would be given as thanks for her service- service of what- the girl had no idea. But because the woman was incorrigible (and more than a little bit crazy), she smiled and nodded to whatever the woman said, thinking she would be distracted by something and leave her alone soon enough. That's how it always worked when Phillip got excited.

The Mayor explained that Lillian's clothes had been all but destroyed in her accident and what she was wearing now was a traditional costume for their village, almost like a uniform.

While Lillian wasn't sure that she liked the comparison, she was grateful that they had provided something for her, and hoped it was the Doctor who had changed her clothing, and not the male nurse. An uncomfortable feeling settled into the pit of her stomach and she wondered a bit more- what kind of care had they given her, while she was asleep? She didn't smell, so it occurred to her with a start that she had likely been bathed by somebody.

_Calm down… nothing happened to you while you were sleeping, idiot!_

It was probably fine… the young man she'd met was super polite, so she thought she could trust him enough not to have done anything like that, but she knew for sure if Phillip were around he would've seen to her protection while she was deep asleep.

Speaking of asleep, what had happened to him in the last several days? Judging from how many injuries she had sustained by being thrown, she couldn't say that nothing bad had happened to her brother, and she felt weak just from walking these ruddy dirt pathways in the town right now!

How was she supposed to find him? Worse yet, if he was in Bluebell, how was she going to traverse a mountain and get to him? It sounded like Konohana kept strict watch on the mountain, so how easy would it be to get past everyone that stood in her way…?

What Hiro had first said to her and the fact that Phillip wasn't here, made it sound sort of likely that he was being held against his will.

Very likely, actually. If he'd kept his mount after the accident and didn't end up here, he would've been led towards Bluebell by the path itself _or_ the fleeing animal, so if that village was as bad as everybody said, and they wouldn't let him go either…

Wait.

Either?

A dull light bulb somewhere in the back of her mind flashed back to life inside her and she realized… she probably was expected to stay here, in _this_ village.

_They were trying to give her a farm!_

Ina's voice buzzed in the background of her thoughts like a summer cicada, being paid no mind. It seemed like the woman wanted to be seen talking to people as much as she wanted to be listened to, so Lillian let herself be paraded around the village for a bit, not admitting how exhausted she was, or how her mind raced, watching the woman's eyes try to focus on everything at once.

_Worse yet, I think Ina's talking about her army now, like Ayame said she would_… the girl finally noticed, a chill going through her spine.

Ina saw her shiver a little and stopped, finally remembering to make eye contact. She saw that the girl's eyes were glazing over, that she was overwhelmed, and stopped to pat her on the back.

"Well don't worry about that too much," She said, finishing whatever the heck she had been talking about. "Just expect to go see Mako in a few days when you're feeling better. For now I can show you to your new home. Ah- there's Kana!" And the woman was distracted as Lillian thought she might be.

My new home… she thought listlessly. _They can't be serious…_

…

Kana had just finished leading Hayate out to pasture when he saw (or rather heard) Ina walking by, talking excitedly.

_She must be talking about something new in the village if she's that animated. It's kind of early in the day for her to take the normal walk through town._

He looked over just in time to see her approach, and saw that she wasn't alone.

And once again, he found himself staring into a beautiful face.

"Kana!" Mayor Ina said in greeting as she and the girl stopped by the low wooden fence that surrounded his pasture.

"Morning, Mayor- nobody manning the front desk right now, huh?"

She waved her hand absentmindedly. "Nobody's going to check out any books today. But forget about that for a second. Here, look who's awake!"

She led Lillian ahead of her and let go of the girl's arm, smiling like she had caught a dozen special shishamo on one line. The mayor put her hands back on her hips and waited for his reaction.

One look at Lillian's face was all it took to feel a bit of sympathy for her… she looked exhausted, Kana thought.

He put a hand out to her and she took it over the fence and after a moment's hesitation, avoiding his gaze. "Do you feel alright?" He felt the need to ask.

The girl's eyes rose up from the ground, over his body and finally settled on his. The look she gave him was hard to categorize. It wasn't that she was shy, more like, not up for a fight right now?

"Kana…" She said, and he inclined his head.

"Yeah?" Kana was suddenly conscious that he was still holding her hand.

"You found me, right? Nurse Hiro… he said you did."

He nodded. "Yeah, you were pretty beat up. I'm glad to see you awake and walking around. You sure you're up for it?"

She shrugged, not feeling like talking too much. _Was there anybody that would enjoy a tour like this?_ She wondered if she mouthed 'help me' to him, would he get the hint and chase off the Mayor, who had been running her around for an hour already?

"Ina- I can take her home from here, yeah?" He suddenly offered to the woman in red.

Lillian blinked.

"Oh, really?" Ina's eyes lit up, like she was expecting him to make the offer all along. "You sure you can leave your horses right now?"

Was that sarcasm? Probably. But he just smiled. "They'll be fine out here- they love it- I just planted new grass for 'em, so they'll be happy. You should head back though- what if Reina has to do more research?"

"True." Ina smiled and for the first time since Lillian met her it looked genuine. "You're right. Door should be open if you want to show her around. I'll come by and give you the keys later."

"That would be great."

And like that, the Mayor was walking away, her gait that of a woman who owned the world.

Lillian let out a breath she didn't realize she's been holding and smiled gratefully at the tall guy on the other side of the fence.

He reached up to move a flyaway strand of his brown hair and tucked it messily behind his ear. "You ready to go, looks like you could use another nap, yeah?"

It wasn't more than a ten minute walk down the path from Kana's Animals, and it was larger than anything Lillian had ever seen in her life. She knew that once she felt better (If ever again) she'd love a place like this, spacious and open. But something made her stop when they reached the front door, not willing to walk in and claim it.

There had to be a cost.

Nothing in life is free, as the saying went, especially not several acre farms with open pastures and perfectly upkept little outbuildings. Eventually her tiredness won over and she walked in, Kana following behind her to show her… what? It was a single room.

She went wordlessly to the bed and immediately laid down (more like fell face-down in it), and when he laughed and said he was going to make a cup of tea for her to feel welcome, she muttered into the surprisingly comfortable pillow 'good night' instead.

The day had been long, the people had been different, the village… confusing. Maybe everything would make more sense in the morning.

Just as she could feel herself being pulled into the lulling depths of sleep when a hand laid lightly on her shoulder caused her eyes to fly open again.

Kana was just… looking at her.

She stared back, having no energy to do anything else.

"I'm glad you finally opened your eyes, Lillian." He admitted; his agreeable voice hesitant.

Her eyes opened a bit more at this and he could see the unusual color that they were. And he was truly glad that one more creature had decided to continue waking up.


	8. Chapter 8: Daydream and Nightmare

The next morning (if it could be called morning being still dark outside). The cost of the farm she'd acquiesced to managed to became significantly more evident.

She must have slept deeply, because Lillian woke up extremely confused that the daylight was gone, and didn't know if it was the same evening, the next morning, or if she had slipped away from the real world again for a few more days.

Thankfully a small calendar in the corner helped her get her bearings- and randomly told her that a cooking contest was coming up soon- but didn't help her to decide what to do from here.

Being so dark out she didn't think it would be safe to go traipsing around the mountain looking for her brother, and even though it was the first thing she wanted to do- it would have to wait for a few more hours at least. She hoped when the time came she'd have the energy to make it all the way over, but she'd have to take her chances by traveling on foot as their pony was nowhere to be seen.

Her chest hurt to think of what was happening to Phillip in a place where she couldn't protect him, and despite all the friendly offerings of the earlier day she felt truly alone in the matter. Her breath became shallow when she realized the weight of her task; nobody over here seemed willing to go halfway up the mountain, let alone entirely over, and especially not for a complete stranger.

They had never been separated for more than a few days- Lillian and her brother had traveled together ever since their parents had passed away six or seven years ago- so they both relied on each other's company quite a bit, and had been forced to grow up quickly amidst the harsh realities of an adult world.

As they were only nine when it happened and they had been on a trip as a family, there was not really any local authority that would take care of them, and the two twins ended up in a homeless shelter for the first several months. After uncountable days of eating stews with no discernible ingredients and mixing powdered milk into tap water at a local food bank they realized that the future as they were headed for was probably begging-like everyone else that lived in the shelters.

Not that they didn't try it- and begging brought them a few coins to occasionally purchase real milk- but it was never enough to fill their stomachs and they had to compete for the most profitable places with a grisly group of the hopeless, the angry and the addicted.

They got into a good amount of fights back then, often at the loosing end, but learned a more valuable lesson than hundreds of peaceful days spent under the wings of their parents- You can never rely on anyone other than yourself. If you want to succeed (or even eat) in life, you had better roll up your sleeves, work your ass off, and fight like it was death to fail.

After a few years together of traveling from town to town and doing odd jobs to earn money, the two finally scored work at an Inn, where room and board were included. For the first time since their parent's accident, the two had enough food to eat, and were able to save.

That's when their current dream was born.

A pull in the muscles of her neck brought Lillian back to reality and she once again stretched, this time trying to quiet her thoughts.

_That's not the life you're going to live anymore_, she told herself firmly. _You and Phillip, you are going to be free_.

A mocking laugh in the back of her mind emerged and asked her one single word: _How?_

She sighed and got out of bed to grab some water, opening a mostly empty cabinet to discover one tall glass with a bamboo pattern etched on the rim- it figured- and two small tea cups made of a rough brown ceramic and a few mismatched plates. It was just like being at the shelter all over again.

_Although this time I'm not going to starve half to death…_

Thankfully there was a kitchen sink and she didn't have to go outside to draw from a well or pump water up by hand from a copper spigot out back like all the pictures of country living she'd seen in library books.

After slaking her thirst and realizing that she finally had a bit of energy, she decided to fully explore the house, which took her less than three minutes as everything was bare and there was no more than one room and a rug to look at.

There was nothing left to do afterwards other than check out the barn and look around the farm, maybe something would turn up that she could use when she went to the mountain later in the morning.

But as she set her hand on the handle and turned the doorknob- nothing happened.

She tried again, this time with a frown and a tug on the door- and once more, nothing.

Where was the lock…?

It was obviously locked- should she be thankful she slept safely or wonder who else had a key?

And for the umpteenth time a thought occurred to her that should've been obvious all along.

Mayor Ina had told her and Kana when they parted ways she'd 'Come by and give the keys to you later.'

Though Lillian was falling half asleep walking when the woman in the red habit had said that, now a puzzle piece fell into place from the jumble that was yesterday and the girl realized that Ina might not have been talking to her.

A chill danced up her spine when she realized that she might not have the key to her own home.

Suddenly she was wide awake, searching every inch of the place; it had to be somewhere, no one would be so cruel to just kidnap someone like this.

Wait- if she knew they were trying to give her a farm, was it really kidnapping?

_Who cares- find the damn thing!_

Frantically she looked in all the empty drawers, opened every cabinet, and checked the storage bin. There was even a key rack over by the door that was empty- and her heart sank.

What was she supposed to do now?

Well, going down without a fight was not an option. They'd have to open the door eventually, and when they did, Lillian would be ready.


	9. Chapter 9: Frustrated Patience

Phillip rose with the dawn (this was becoming a habit by now) and made himself a single, fried egg. It wasn't much, but he'd certainly had less to eat in his life.

After breakfast the auburn-haired youth snapped on the radio to hear the weather report- a full day of rain- and shrugged on his khaki jacket before heading to the door. He wondered absently as he kicked his shoes on who he would come face to face with today.

He had a good guess about it based on the past week and today was no different.

Cam tipped his hat in greeting from where he leaned easily up against the side of the cow barn as Phillip exited his front door. Phillip ignored him, per usual, and Cam let it go, being a quiet guy who generally said nothing anyways.

There was an awkward truce between to the two after everything that happened- and Phillip could not forgive nor thank Cam for his actions in the past few days. Phillip had fought to the last of his strength that first day to earn the right merely to be left alone on the mountain, and had been overpowered by Howard, by Georgia (once she'd regained control of her mare), and finally by Cam as well. Granted at the time Phillip had been bleary-eyed and exhausted, but the panic of not knowing what was happening to his sister had given him a renewed strength, and he certainly didn't leave the other combatants unscathed.

Why someone who had aided his search so earnestly in the beginning would turn on him later to impede it's success, the newcomer had no idea. Howard, sure. The barn-shaped blond man had almost nothing honest about him, but Cam… despite everything had been genuinely working to help out. By now Phillip had stopped trying to understand that guy and he noted with some satisfaction that there was still a mark on Cam's lip from where Phillip had split it with his fist.

With a sigh of frustration he remembered that today would mark seven… or was it eight days that he had been unable to get away from Bluebell?

It was almost as if someone were playing a game on him, talking about armies, and preparedness, and then sticking him on this ranch 'for the good of the village' so he could help feed the troops.

_What troops..?_ All this place had in it were a few pissed off ranchers, at each other's throats for a grudge that those responsible for, had already died because of! The generation of people who began the whole fiasco here had passed away decades back, and still the feud went on- over something petty like food preferences, he had been told?

After nearly three days of being locked up in the basement of the café, Phillip had agreed to aid Bluebell in their conflict, on the condition that the village sent someone out everyday to search for Lillian. He had actually set the condition that it be Cam, from what he'd seen of the others he was not about to put his only sister's life in their hands.

So until there was an actual need for Phillip to be involved with the militia, army or whatever ranchers with weapons were calling themselves these days, he mostly went with Cam to do minimal foraging and took care of the two animals that the Mayor had Jessica give him on faith.

If this day went like the others, he knew Laney would come by again this afternoon with the leftovers of some new baked good she was trying to perfect. She had a habit of showing up at random intervals with squares of sponge cake and pieces of pie that would probably wind up on the Howard's café menu later in the week. She usually had a decent excuse to visit (as perfect recipes seemed to be the only thing she really cares about), but Phillip knew that she was really on an errand for Howard and checking up on him, so seeing Laney every day was starting to set his teeth on edge.

Her company itself wasn't bad, but by the time she arrived to act as his keeper for an hour or so before going back home marked the beginning of the evening when the Mayor or his Wife would be out walking the village, checking up on everyone.

The young man had to begrudgingly admit it was an effective system- everyone in the town was in constant communication and almost literally scheduled their lives around knowing where each other was.

Which obviously made it difficult for anyone to slip away unnoticed.

Phillip in general valued honesty and wanted to hold up his end of the agreement with Bluebell (although his agreement was compulsory), but his patience became thinner and his thoughts turned more desperate everyday when Cam came back to the little ranch on the outskirts and just shook his head.

His musings came to an end when he realized he was done with farm work for the day (there were a few seeds that Cam had brought over planted out front, but the rain took care of those), and Phillip realized with a start that he had a whole afternoon with nothing to do. He dropped the brush and milker off into the barn and looked around, noting that Cam was still on the property, this time carefully examining the shoots that were planted.

He walked over to where the guy crouched… was he talking… to them? His curiosity got the better of him and decided to stop giving the taller guy the silent treatment.

"What are you doing?"

"Plants need tenderness, just like people do. I'm talking to them, it helps them grow quicker." The villager replied, matter-of-fact.

"I thought watering them twice a day helped them grow quicker." Phillip said sardonically.

Cam caught his tone and turned took at him, offering one of his trademark expressions of polite tolerance. "That helps too. Are you done for now?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Done as I'll be today. Thought I'd go check out the request board."

"I'll go with you."

Phillip raised an eyebrow. "You know, I did agree to stay and help Bluebell out. Hasn't it been a few days since you last opened your flower stand?" He asked.

Cam shrugged under his hat as they passed the shipping bin, his eyes surveying the surrounding flora while they walked several more paces.

_No answer, again…?_ Phillip thought. _Of course not._

"Today's Friday, tomorrow's a festival. I'll have it open again on Sunday." He finally said.

"Oh. The cooking… right. I think Rutger expects me to enter." Phillip looked over to Georgia's ranch as they approached it, habitually. The first few times he walked the village he hadn't known this was her place and her sudden appearance from the barn or walking next to the little white fence had nearly stopped his heart. It was like being alone in a jungle and discovering a tiger had been tracking your every move as you went.

There she was now, under her umbrella, watching the pasture in the rain. She looked peaceful among her horses, and something told him that this was the only place she truly felt safe. He waived nonchalantly to her, pretending he didn't find her obnoxious and repellant. "Hey, Geo!" He forced a note of cheer into his voice.

"Don't call me that!" She shot back, looking away in a huff, her red ringlets covering her face.

Phillip couldn't stop the slow spread of a grin. At least she wasn't completely impervious. His face darkened when he remembered how his hands had been bound and tied to the side of her saddle for the walk back to Bluebell, and he rubbed his writs, suddenly wanting nothing to do with her again. "Request board…" He said as if to remind himself, heading off in that direction.

They passed Ash on the way but didn't stop to say hi (he was busy playing 'airplane' with Cheryl).

…

Cam had to give the new guy some credit.

Phillip had been here a little over a week and was making every effort to get along with the local people, despite what he faced in not being able to see his sister or live as he wished. He also had the guts to negotiate the terms of his cooperation with Howard, and that went a long way for him in terms of earning respect. Howard was not an easy man to negotiate with, and was used to getting whatever he wanted.

The wild look in his gray eyes from those first days had ebbed away slowly, and it looked like now he was channeling his anger into some sort of frustrated patience.

Cam thought back to his own arrival here so many years ago and wondered… would there have been a difference if his family were still alive? Would he have tried to get away?

He didn't know. Probably because he had been so young, he had just been glad to have a home. He knew he didn't belong in Bluebell and that something went wrong for his parents that they ended up coming here, but once they had died and he was taken into the café and Howard and his daughter's lives, he felt he had something to live for again.

Bluebell needed him.

He glanced over and saw the way Phillip's expression changed after greeting Geo, and knew that he wasn't handling the change as well as everyone thought.

Actually, what was the original purpose of Phillip and Lillian's visit to this area in the first place? Wouldn't it be terribly ironic if they were here to because they'd heard about all the vacant properties and were ready to commit to a new life somewhere? He wanted to ask, but conversations with the kid were usually pretty frosty and he wasn't so great at talking, so he resolved not to bother him about it.

Once at the request board he saw that there were limited options; Eileen was asking for a few mint, and Howard needed more lumber to fix the leaky roof.

He looked over again at the storm clouds raging in Phillip's gaze and wondered if he could take him further up the mountain today- would anyone notice if they were gone longer than usual? As the person charged with searching the mountain Cam had seen no more signs of what happened that day, and they did have the summit and Konohana high as their extended boarder for the new day or two. He owed some results to Phillip for having faith in him, didn't he? And if they lost the next contest and more territory, it would become impossible to get close enough to Konohana to find out what really had happened.

What would he do if the kid bolted, could he trust him? He pressed his fingertips into his temple as if putting pressure on his mind would force answers to come to the surface, but it didn't do too much.

"Well, let's at least go get the mint." The kid said to his side. "If I have to go back to that ranch right now I'm going to go crazy."

Cam smiled a bit, deciding. "Yeah, I agree. I'll grab us a snack from the café first. Do you want anything?"

Phillip raised an eyebrow. "What, like more sponge cake? Never mind that, I'll go there with you."

Georgia watched the two from the safety of her pasture, eyes smoldering despite the surrounding rain. There was something about their blooming friendship that she didn't like, and she couldn't pin it down to figure it out.


	10. Chapter 10: Honest Pretense

Laney looked up from the table she was cleaning when the little bell above the door sounded. She smiled, seeing Cam's purple hat peak around the edge of the door as he walked in. "Hullo, Cam!"

Cam nodded to her and kept the door open for someone- and for just a fraction of a second her smile faltered.

"Hi… Phillip. How are you?" She regained herself.

If Phillip noticed her surprise at seeing him come back here willingly it wasn't evident on his face. "The same as I'll be later, when you swing by the farm." He said. "Except Cam and I are off to fetch some mint for Eileen, so I figured I'd say hi now."

Laney just smiled back at him. "Well that's nice- do you want something sweet, too?"

Cam made his way behind the counter and started putting together sandwiches, seeing that Howard was out at the moment.

"Uh… no thanks." Phillip took a seat at one of the perimeter tables, not wanting to have a long conversation. He watched her clean off a few more tables, her white skirt rippling behind her as she trotted energetically around from place to place. The tables looked as if they were cleaned off every hour, on the hour.

He watched her carefully wipe all surfaces of a little vase and set it back down gingerly, as if it were made of ice. Something about her demeanor was off. Sure, she _seemed_ happy enough…

As Cam was putting the cucumbers back in the fridge, Laney appeared at his side, the smile from earlier still plastered eagerly on her face. He resisted the urge to sigh. "You're taking him to the mountain?" She said as if pretending to approve. "How long do you plan on being gone for?"

Then he did sigh. "Just a little while. Did you need anything from there?"

Her big blue eyes leveled on him and she pouted a little bit. "Well, I haven't seen a single magic blue flower yet this spring and they _are_ my favorite…"

She put a finger up to her lips as if she was unsure about how to ask, waiting for him to respond. He knew that if he didn't say anything now, she'd wait all day for him to reply. "I'll keep an eye out for them, okay?" Cam said, looking away as if the conversation was over.

He finished wrapping the sandwiches and turned to go, but she put her hand on his wrist with a light touch, as if she was afraid to be too close to him.

"But- Cam?" He stopped at the sudden change in her voice. She sounded worried. "Yes?" He asked quietly.

"Are… are you allowed to take him foraging by yourself? Is Georgia going too?"

He turned to face her, and studied her expression for a moment. She was the last person he felt like telling the truth to about this. If she knew he planned on taking Phillip all the way back to Konohana high today…

"I think Geo has patrol later, so we might see her." He hedged.

"Grady has patrol, but that's not what I asked. If he becomes… violent again, or if dad finds out…"

"Then don't say anything. You don't need to. Howard wants Phillip to participate in village activities like anyone else who lives here would. Filling a request is a part of that."

The blond girl crossed her arms over her chest and leaned towards him, the pretense of her happy-go-lucky persona lost for the moment. "I don't want you to go alone with him!" She nearly stamped her foot at him. "It's not safe."

"What's not safe?" Smiled Phillip, leaning over the counter all of a sudden.

Laney jumped back, sputtering. "Uhm… the mountain, you boys have to be careful…"

Phillip ran a hand through his short auburn hair self consciously. "Laney, you don't have to pretend that you like everyone all the time. If you don't like me for whatever reason, I'd rather you be honest about it."

She stared at him for a moment in shock.

Then embarrassment took over and she thrust her hands in front of her, palms towards him as if in surrender. "I-I do like everyone here just fine and…"

Phillip put his palms up against hers and she stopped talking the moment they touched, peeking over them shyly in surprise. "Can we start over?" He asked.

Her face went red enough to match her sweater. "I… I don't know what you mean…"

Phillip lowered their hands, and took one of hers into a firm handshake. "Nice to meet you. I'm Phillip… I just moved here to Bluebell. And you are…?"

"…Laney." She said, confusion all over her face. "What's it matter to you, anyways?"

Drat. She'd meant for that sentence to come out sounding nice.

He shrugged. "Isn't it better to be honest than fake a smile every time you have to see me? I'm living here now, after all."

If it didn't seem possible earlier, her face became another shade darker. Before she could remember her manners she yanked her hand out of his. "I just remembered something…. I have to…"

She backed away from the counter and turned to go up the stairs, tripping over the bottom most stair in the process.

Over her shoulder she offered a quick 'Be safe." To Cam, who was hiding his eyes suspiciously under his hat.

…

Once Phillip and Cam were back outside, the tall florist finally started laughing. "You have a way with girls, huh? I've never seen her so red."

Phillip shrugged again. "I can tell it bothers you too, the way she fakes being happy all the time. What's her problem, anyways?"

Cam looked at him for a moment. "I guess once you get to know Howard…"

"I am never getting to know Howard." The boy spat out. "The man is a menace."

A sidelong glance from under that hat again. "Alright." There was no judging in Cam's tone. Almost as if he understood.

They walked together in silence after that.

…

Once upstairs, Laney shut herself in her room and pressed her back up against the door, heat still pooling in her cheeks. She took a deep breath in to calm herself, but then took two more, and ended up breathing too quickly all over again.

She was so, so embarrassed.

How bold of him, to call her out like that… and in front of Cam, no less!

If her father thought for one second she was being less than polite to people she would get it, but she knew that wasn't the real reason her breath now caught in her throat and choked her.

She knew better than to believe her father's temper was the reason for this.

That rat… that stupid boy… he was so… She couldn't form the words in he mind, it was blank with angry shock at his presumption.

'Let's start over, let's be friends'

Sauntering in as if he owned the place, acting as if he had complete control.

Acting as if mere days ago he hadn't been locked up downstairs, and grateful to get a meal, to see her face!

Yes, she had been rude to leave like that, but Phillip- there was something in the way that he looked at her. It was like he could look straight through, stripping away everything about her and knowing what she was really feeling on the inside.

She had worked so hard to befriend him this week, visiting every day (her dad made her do that, but so what, they just wanted him to feel welcome). How had he possibly known that she secretly loathed him?

She couldn't help it, anyways. After the way Cam had looked when they brought that guy back to the café- his split lip, bloodied face and telltale limp- how could she forgive him for that?

Cam was special. He was the one genuine person in this entire town and-

It was unnerving, that was all.

Dangerous.

Covering her face, she doubted she'd ever be able to really be a friend of someone like that... He was violent. He was far too open and perceptive. It wasn't safe… it didn't feel right.

Real friends were for show, anyways. Georgia and her got along fine by gathering over at the café fence several times a week, talking about how nice the weather was. That's all they wanted to do- show the other villagers that they were sociable, nice girls. Eligible bachelorettes with no unhealthy hobbies that were an asset to the village. It was a way to fit in, to show that you had friends while really not having to maintain any friendships. The same greetings, the same answers. Everyday.

That was the bread and butter of Bluebell- its rich historic tradition. Everyone could rely on one another, could be part of something greater than themselves. By sharing a routine with each other they shared the comfort of never having to dive in too deeply. To find out what really went on below the surface of the calm waters was to invite disaster, and she knew it.

Another shaky breath claimed her as she sunk down to the floor.

_Getting everyone to really know each other would just shatter everything_, she thought in between dry sobs.

Phillip was unpredictable. To make matters worse, there was no way he was loyal to Bluebell after the way he was brought here.

From the open window outside she heard a quiet chuckle, and momentarily forgot her angry feelings long enough to sneak over and take a look. She thought it sounded like Cam-

And it was. Was he actually laughing…?

She could never make him do that. She put her hands up on the window sill and felt the breeze come in, lifting her feathery blond hair up to tickle her face.

She felt so out of place.

Jealously she watched as the new guy waltzed away, casually making her best friend open up, casually breaking down the walls that she had spent years trying to scale.

And she hated him.


	11. Chapter 11: Raindrops and War Stories

They had already spent over an hour hiking up the foot of the mountain, and it hadn't escaped Phillip's notice that Cam was taking a very long time to find the right mint.

Rain still pelted the landscape all around them, creating small streams here and there between the openings in the trees, dropping into the lightly swirling rivers that webbed in and out around them. The sound of frogs was the only accompaniment to nature's cascade, and the young farmer found himself cherishing every breath of crisp, enlivened air as they traversed the forest.

It made him hope fervently that Lilly was well, breathing the same amazing air and enjoying the surrounding embrace of the land as he was.

The mountain was gorgeous in spring.

As they went Cam began to share a little bit more, it was almost as if this is where he could be himself, far away from other people. He alternated from pointing out unique places in the trail (although the rivers were his favorite place to be), and unique plants that could be used for survival.

Cam's light-hearted expression explained why he knew the woods so well, why even pathways that weren't friendly to Phillip's feet opened for him.

It was as if he loved the mountain, and it loved him back.

They came to the head of a long winding river and stopped for a bit, Phillip reaching to pluck another perfect-looking mint from a hollowed out-log where it was nestled into the shade.

"What about this one?" He asked, carrying it over for inspection.

Cam shrugged, barely looking it over. "Seems too young. There are buds on it, but not enough full blooms."

Phillip made a face as this was the fourth rejected mint, and the request could've been fulfilled over half an hour ago. There were almost six full blossoms on that one. Eileen just needed fresh flowers for her door, anyways. She wasn't pressing the petals in her diary!

But something in the other guy's mood kept him from arguing, and being on the mountain in the rain was far better than sitting alone in the barn, staring at a fat cow and listening to a cackling hen.

Cam got up and started to move again, not waiting for Phillip to catch up. The pace increased noticeably, maybe the florist had realized that time was ticking?

Yet he didn't seem to want to head back any time soon, and that was fine. Before long the two had gone further in than any of the other trips they'd taken in the last couple of days. With every step the mountain seemed to grow more beautiful, and there was nothing in it compared to the uncertainty and darkness of that first night.

_Maybe it's not so bad here…_

Along the way Cam managed to reject three more mint, and Phillip started to piece things together.

He recalled the guilty look on the young man's face the last time he'd come back from searching for Lillian, how Cam had hovered for a few seconds more after shaking his head in the usual 'no, I haven't found anything.', as if he had something in mind to say.

He recalled the way Laney had reacted when Cam packed a lunch and the way she'd said 'it wasn't safe'.

Caught in the midst of his thoughts, he didn't notice he had stopped walking and after a few steps Cam stopped too, looking over. The land was leveling off a bit and was less vertical; they might have been getting close to the summit. He decided to ask the obvious.

"How far are we going?"

Cam's green eyes opened up a bit as if feigning surprise.

"I know you aren't supposed to let me get this far from the town, so what's going on?" He challenged, his voice even.

Cam grabbed the end of his hat and looked away, a gesture that was becoming a communication of its own. "Well…"

Phillip decided to sit down on a nearby outcropping of rock, ironically finding a mint right next to it. He laughed a little, plucking it, and couldn't resist offering it to the florist. "Unless…. _This_ mint is the holy grail of mints that you had in mind?"

Cam rolled his emerald eyes skyward.

"We have picked enough mint here to make herb salad for a week's worth of lunches, so can you please drop the pretense of this trip? If you need help with something, you can just ask." Phillip crossed his arms, waiting.

"You're right." Cam said, after twirling one of the stems carefully in his fingertips. "No- you were right from the beginning. We never should've taken you off the mountain and into town."

He finally leveled his gaze at Phillip, although it looked like it took an effort for him to do.

Phillip kept his arms crossed, waiting for the rest that remained locked behind the other's eyes.

"And- I have been looking for your sister." Cam continued. "But she's not on this mountain. If she were here, I would have found out about it." Another pause. "Which means…"

"Which means she's in the other village." Phillip said finally, nodding in understanding. He relaxed his pose and sunk down a bit on the rocks, flicking his hand through his rain-slicked hair a few times. "So, back to the original question?"

Cam's eyebrows went up.

"How far are we going? I'm sure you know me well enough by now that you know if I end up anywhere near that place I'm going in to get her."

Cam frowned. "Right. You should probably… be prepared though. I'm not going to be able to get you very close. You know how the festivals allow us territory?"

"I think I heard something like that. So right now, we can get farther without having to risk backlash?"

Cam nodded, dropping the new mint into his bag. "The risk to overstepping their lines is very real- it will endanger the entire village, and I won't be involved in risking our people's lives."

Phillip sat there for a moment, trying to take in what had just been said, then he shrugged and shook his head. "Well excuse me- I've heard that too, but what are you all _talking_ about? Wasn't this feud something that started so long ago nobody knows how it happened? Is that worth risking your life for?"

The other said nothing.

"Then- Is it worth _trafficking_ people for?!" He was getting angry now and didn't care. Before he could keep talking he got up abruptly and stood, just clenching and unclenching his fists as his sides. It was as if the fight or flight response had gotten caught in his veins, adrenaline coursing but having nowhere to go. He felt like… something needed to be destroyed.

Cam offered a sidelong glance and let a few more moments pass, until the other's breathing began to come back under control. "Laney's mother died in a raid." He said, as if remembering.

Phillip went still as a statue.

"Konohana back then, their mayor was an old military man. Ina is the current mayor, it was her father, I think. He would send raiding parties every month, like clockwork."

Phillip sat back down again, gray eyes narrow. Once again he waited.

The plaid hat covering his eyes, Cam folded his hands and rested them on his knees, pensively. "And we would ruin their festivals, pull up their crops. They lived on only fish for a few years. We filled in their sluice canals and poisoned their rice paddies- it takes nearly three seasons for rice to grow. Well, we took care of that!" A bitter laugh.

'I was young when I arrived in Bluebell. I remember the first time we were raided, but not why it happened. They swarmed the mountain- took people hostage. Our moms were foraging together at the time and were taken to the summit. Only my mother made it back. Hers was executed, a sacrifice to the Harvest Goddess."

He shook his head, and Phillip stayed still, solemnly watching the rain in the misty woodlands that surrounded them. He folded his arms across his chest again- in thought.

He realized that Cam's parents were not in Bluebell now and wanted to ask, but wondered if he ever would gather the courage. The things Cam was telling him now, he got the feeling he told no one. Most of the people he could talk to would have lived through it, anyways. Did no one ever discuss what happened? Memorialize it? They all seemed to pretend their world was perfect- a snowglobe of picturesque happiness. Who was going to work to make that happiness real?

Again, only an obvious question came to his mind. "So, how long has it been since someone has died?"

Cam looked up at this. "I think once the mayor of Konohana passed away, there were a few more incidents, but everyone was exhausted. You've seen how the town is now- broken families- Jessica doesn't talk about what happened to her husband. Ash spoils his sister every day, he can't help it- she's the first child who's grown up in our fragile peace. Rose and Rutger- they had five sons. Five!" His expression turned fierce, and he pressed his hat even further on his head, leaving his hand there for a moment. "Can you imagine- losing every child because of this?"

Cam suddenly snatched his hat off of his head and began to roll it in his hands. His hair, the color of wheat, immediately began to get pelted with raindrops. He sighed in refreshment, as if the cold water dancing in spring air brought him back to life.

"So- the way they are now…" Phillip let his voice trail off, picturing the elderly couple together. "Walking the village every day, sneaking gifts to each other…"

A small smile played on Cam's face. "Rutger used to be such a spitfire. He had every guy in the village learn how to fight. Every girl was taught first aid. Georgia, when she moved here wanted to learn everything. That's part of the reason she's so good at it- the drive to prove herself to us, I guess? Anyway, Rutger changed after his eldest died- like he realized we were all going to die in the war. He started… working to preserve our village, our lands."

Phillip couldn't help but hear the notes of compassion and respect in the other guy's voice. It was hard not to fall into the picture he was painting. To be able to see the same people who had humiliated him in a different light, under a different brush, was impossible to express.

He resolved to try and learn more about the people from Bluebell, after this. He let out a long breath and stretched. Before he could ask, Cam loosened his tie a bit (nervous habit, probably), and offered: "I'll take you as far as the line. From there, let's see what their patrol does. If we sneak around they'll think we're up to something and you might never see her again."

As the soft breeze picked up speed and ran madly through the clearing, the young new farmer's face was far away. "Do you think…" He stopped himself, then regained courage. "Do you think she's alright?"

Cam tightened his tie this time. "I think she's alive." He said. "They need new people as badly as we do. Ina's not one to kill someone just because she doesn't know them, from what I hear. So as long as she… survived that night in the mountain…" He looked away.

"Right." Phillip sighed. "Right. Let's keep going then. And Cam?"

No answer, just and incline of the head.

"Thank you."

A light nod replied back.


	12. Chapter 12: Thoughts in Fog

It wasn't long before the two reached the actual summit, and the sight was breathtaking.

Cam was here almost weekly for the contests, and more often when the mountain was theirs, but the view was different with every new visit. With the wind, sun and rain the breaks in the trees and view of the low valleys and dodging rivers changed. The colors evolved, different animals emerged, and the clouds stirred with new authority. Despite the circumstances of the visit, it excited him and lifted his spirit to be here again.

"What do you think?" He looked to the new kid, whose face was alight with wonder, gray eyes searching the tumultuous sky as if he could see everything beyond it. There were distant craters in the raining clouds where streams of light fought for a place in the heavens, creating cascades of brighter colors wherever the rain slowed.

"I can see why everyone's fighting over it." He said.

He walked through the stone courtyard and past the lit pillars, sizzling with orange flame in front of the backdrop of sky and storm clouds. Wordlessly he approached the fence on the opposite side, and gazed over the expanse below.

Cam smiled, then took a small walk himself, checking to see if any new flowers were flourishing with the coming of spring. Immediately he was drawn to a small outcropping of rosebushes, searching among the buds that were starting to push their way though it's twiggy leaves.

He started- talking to it again?

Phillip wasn't sure why he was bothering to pay attention, but that guy sure was weird. Wasting time talking to a wild plant. It was already growing and looked healthy. Yet his captivation was clear, unmistakably enthralled as he reached down to examine each new bud.

It reminded him a little bit- of Lilly. As long as something was alive, it was sacred. She hated bugs, but refused to kill them. She approached every wild animal and attempted to feed it, or would sit for hours watching it in awe. They were never able to care for a pet, but sometimes when they had stopped at a village or town seeking gainful employment, she would end up volunteering her time too at the local shelter.

And plants- well she loved flowers, but especially flowering trees. There had been a small cherry tree by their shelter, broken and battered by the city. But still it bloomed, still he watched her trying to climb all over it (tomboy that she was), and still she daydreamed aloud about how one day she was going to have one of her own.

Just then a tiny sound came from the base of the rosebush and for a split second Phillip thought the flowers were talking back.

Then he saw movement, the swish of an upturned white tail, and realized that a stray cat lived here, on the summit. The cat approached gingerly, then finally ran between Cam's legs and tried to climb on him, he just smiled- shyly?- and pet it, scratching behind the ears.

_Well now he reminds me exactly of Lilly_. The kid thought, eyebrow raised. How did someone like this end up in a town of people like Bluebell?

For some reason he looked away, back over the expanse below. This place was gorgeous.

It was too bad really that they weren't going to stay here very long.

…

Grady let his stallion wander along the riverside, plucking fresh grass and flicking the water from its ears as it went.

He hadn't seen anything to be concerned about on this patrol, but as he sat to eat the turnip salad Georgia had made for him, he kept both eyes open.

He didn't like to be on patrol alone, and it was particularly dangerous to be unhorsed and eating. It was a bit unnerving in the rain, as the usual instinct of sound was muffled, and distances were already fading into a warm fog as the afternoon grew late.

Earlier he had seen both Kana and Mako on the Konohana mid-range, and wasn't about to let them overpower him to go beyond - the incident the other week was a good reminder to watch out for Kana, especially. That boy was dangerous.

Although, not really a boy any longer- he was grown, and even though he had been such a gentle child Grady had to remind himself that people change.

He was caught for a moment in his thoughts, how Georgia and Kana once played together on the mountain, before they moved to Bluebell. They both seemed so innocent then. But once the boy's father had moved away and left him to the influence of the other villagers, he started to distance himself. Not that was difficult to create distance, what with everyone trying to kill each other after that.

Everything had been simpler, once. Running the lodge had been a challenge, although fun and worthwhile, but after his wife had left them, he wanted stability for Georgia. Would would've thought that deciding to move to Bluebell would separate them from the friends they had made in Konohana?

It was too bad, really.

He finished his lunch and got up, wanting to get back in the saddle quickly just in case. He was going to be prepared if somebody decided to come charging through the fog, no matter who it was.

…

Kana patted his horse on the flank as they trotted the forest trails, cringing on occasion as the beast changed course abruptly or without instruction.

He really would rather be riding Hayate right now. Unfortunately his best friend was not agile enough to navigate the woods during a long rainfall- the mud alone posed a threat- and he was not going to risk her delicate ankles on the craggy paths that could melt away unexpectedly with erosion. It really wasn't good riding weather anyways, but he knew that wouldn't stop the Blubellions like Grady or firebrand Georgia from diligently edging their mounts over the scrimmage line.

To make matters worse they could well have him outmatched in the equine region today too, since Hayate was not an option for a day like this and his next best Stallion was out to stud. Not that geldings were weak- far from it. But to an experienced rider like Kana it was a disappointment to have an unreliable animal like this to contend with. If this was just a ride for fun- how long had it been since he had been able to _do_ that?- it wouldn't have mattered and he could take his time in training it.

The young gelding he was on now was more than just a little bit jumpy, and Kana's back hurt as it was, having the morning he did.

True, he should've expected some kind of reaction from the girl after the way Ina and he had locked her in her new home overnight, but it was like six am when he came along to open the door and check up on her- who was that spirited at six am?!

Before he could react she had launched herself at him from the dark doorway and wrestled him half to the ground, covering his head with her blanket to blind him.

Thankfully she still didn't have too much strength from being in a coma for those first few days, but it took him too long to react and gain the upper hand. After a few minutes of wrestling, he won out and finally managed to lock her wrists behind her so she couldn't keep trying to punch him in the kidneys.

Amethyst eyes flashing and aggravated, Lillian resembled nothing of that shy uncertain girl from the day before. He had been shocked by her reaction- his first thought was that she had a nightmare, and woke while reliving it.

Then he found out that she thought her life was in danger. Inwardly, he scoffed at her then- since he felt she was going to stick him with something sharp from the kitchen any second- but then he saw the fear behind her eyes and realized she really did believe it. "If I let you go, are going to keep hitting me?" He had asked.

She hunched her shoulders against his grasp while his arms encircled her and her eyes gave away nothing. It was sort of like trying to befriend a wild boar. A stray thought hit him when he realized he had a turnip in his bag he could offer her- then he had to remind himself to take this seriously.

He loosened his grip on her wrists from where they sat, wedged between her doorpost. She still struggled whenever she thought he was going to give up. "I'm going to let go now," He said carefully, "And you're going to explain what's got you so spooked, okay?"

She eyed him beneath the mess of her tawny bangs and nodded once.

He loosened his grip a little bit more, and she scooted away from him- the feeling of her tiny shoulders moved away from where he had held her concave against his chest.

He let her go all the way then and she pushed herself backwards onto her heals and her arms came back up- once again he found himself stopping her fists with his hands.

"H-hey!" He exclaimed. Did she not just hear him when he said 'talk'?

"How- DARE- you!" She punctuated, struggling to hit him again. "Treating me like some kind of animal! I- am NOT- staying here!"

A few of her shots connected with his chest this time, and Kana ended up capturing her wrists again to spare himself, this time in front of her. "Hey. HEY!" He finally raised his voice back. "Can you stop that!? I'm not here to hurt you, okay? Alright?"

He lowered her arms slightly so he could look her in the eyes. "I left when you went to bed- you were too exhausted to lock me out, so-"

She shot him a dagger of a glance then, and he realized he'd made a mistake.

"There is no lock on the inside of the door." She said, accusation thick in her voice. "You people intend to keep me here, a prisoner."

"That's for our protection!" He snapped suddenly, voice low. He resisted the urge to cuss. M_ight as well level with her. She was bound to figure it out eventually._

And she stopped in surprise, and hung her head so she didn't have to look at him. "You… expect me to believe…" Then her fists balled up again. "What makes you think I would do anything to hurt anyone here?" She demanded.

He sighed and let her go again, sensing a change in her- a begrudging sense of reason. He dimly wondered if he was some kind of masochist. "You've been trying to use me as a punching bag for the last ten minutes." He reminded her.

Her head snapped back up, eyes searching his face. Was he trying to make fun of her…?

But Kana just got up from where he had been sitting, and backed a few steps away to give her space.

It had been raining overhead, and he stood in it, not seeming to care that he would be drenched soon. The roof overhung a bit but was thatched and did nothing to protect him from the roiling sky.

She felt a twinge of sympathy, but didn't know why as the anger was still very much there, living in the pit of her stomach in the same way it had been since she woke back up hours ago. Joining it now were confusion and doubt. Finally she put her head in her hands and mumbled something about making some tea for him.

He just stood there, barely making eye contact, brown eyes blinking away the rain.

_Did he hear me?_ "I-I said I'll make some stupid tea so you can stop standing outside looking like some kind of-" She felt her face heating up. _Idiot_… she finished in her mind.

He had combed his hair out of his eyes. "Yeah, okay." And joined her back inside.

Thinking back on it now, she went back to her original timid self after they started to talk, but he knew that there was no way she was going to trust him now. Not that he could blame her, really- but they weren't going to just let anybody live in Konohana!

He didn't want to tell her that they were being cautious to make sure that nobody from Bluebell was able to penetrate their defenses… she had been insulted enough for one morning, he'd thought.

They hadn't been able to talk for too long, just enough for Kana to go over the basic expectations; She would live there, work the land, and once the Mayor was convinced that she wouldn't bolt or try to switch sides to Bluebell she had a chance to get the keys to her new farm, and would be welcomed into the community with open arms. Basically, she was expected to behave as though she belonged, until she did.

Lillian had just sat there at her table with an untouched cup of tea in a small earthen mug and a numb look on her face. After he had stated the terms of her life here, she had ignored him completely, as if he wasn't in the room and hadn't said a word.

He ran his hand through his rain-soaked hair again as he rode the foggy forest paths, thinking about it.

Man, did he feel bad.

But- what other way was there? They knew less about her than she did about them, after all.


	13. Chapter 13: Let's Discuss Fruit

"Hey, Grady!"

A friendly voice from behind him nearly made the old rancher jump in his saddle.

He had been expecting to see figures in the mists, sure, but not walking casually up from behind him.

"Hullo, Cam!" He smiled, relieved. "Are you here to reinforce the line with me?"

Then a frown. "Who's this?"

A young man with auburn hair appeared from the folding fog beside Cam. The boy stopped to wipe some mud from his shoes on a nearby rock and waved without saying anything.

Cam looked over. "This is Phillip- you know, from the accident."

"Oh." Grady looked at the boys face for a moment and studied it. He seemed to have a question in his eyes. He dismounted, to be polite and offered a handshake.

Phillip took it, wondering if he had seen the older man yet. "And you are…?"

Grady laughed light-heartedly. "I'm Grady."

"Grady's animals," The boy said, then suddenly his head snapped up- "The place where Georgia works?"

Grady laughed again. "She's my daughter." He explained.

"Oh." The boy looked like he really had a dozen questions in his mind, but voiced none of them.

"Did you meet her when she was running the shop for me? I've been out here, mostly, during the day." Grady paused to survey through the fog, squinting a bit.

"No."

Grady looked back to him at that, but Cam answered in Phillip's place, who didn't seem in the mood for idle chat. "She was part of the retrieval team." He said.

"Ah. That's right! I'd forgotten she was out that night; I've been out so much myself… Well I hope she conducted herself honorably."

_She's a complete banshee…_ Phillip cleared his throat a little. "Actually she forgot someone."

"Oh?" The older man patted the side of his horse as he talked, not taking his eyes off of the woodls.

Phillip could tell that the weather was making the older man nervous. "Yeah. Hey-how do you know where the line is when there's this much fog? It seems impossible to tell."

Grady stopped scanning the woods for a moment and started to really regard him now. "You're pretty close actually. Come to think of it-" He raised his head up to look at Cam, who was a head and a hat taller than him. "What are you boys doing so far out this way? This isn't a place to play around."

Phillip nodded seriously.

Cam gave a small apologetic smile.

Grady narrowed his eyes imperceptibly. "Cam."

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you've found a friend that's just as quiet as you are, but I'm sure you both realize that facial expressions are not the same things as words." He clasped his hands behind his back and looked both of them over. "What's your business here, boys?"

"We're looking for mint." Said Cam easily.

"And my sister."

"And his sister."

"And you- what? A sister? So there _was_ someone else."

Phillip (for the millionth time today) found himself growing aggravated. "There was someone else," he repeated. "And she's not on your side of the mountain." As if he hadn't wasted his first two days in the café telling everyone that! How did these people treat anyone that wasn't on their side? He wondered.

Grady nodded slowly, digesting this. Before he could open his mouth to speak, Phillip added, "Cam's been looking for her every day for me, and-"

"I've been out here everyday, too." Said Grady, deep in thought. "I know some debris from your wreck ended up in the river and got spread out- it's been difficult to piece together what happened. So you left someone here… no wonder."

"Well thank you for caring I guess, but it's been over a week and now's not the time to stand around talking about it. The sooner I can find Lillian, the sooner-"

"Well son, I'm afraid that might be out of the question."

"No, it isn't," Phillip said through clenched teeth. He took a step that angled his body away from the other two, in case he needed to act. "It's the reason I've been cooperating with your town at all. You are representing everyone right now, and I hope the trust I've put in the people of your village is not misplaced."

Cam stepped in front of him then to get Grady's attention. "Grady- Phillip knows about our town's situation. I- Well, I trust him not to endanger us." His voice was quiet, like the rainfall that encircled them. The taller young man was still calm, keeping his hands in the pockets of his blue trousers as if they were merely discussing the weather.

Grady put a hand to his head and rubbed his forehead, grumbling a bit under his breath. "Cam-" His tone was fatherly, admonishing.

"Grady." The florist said evenly, "Phillip doesn't know how she's doing. We never found her that night, and I've been checking the mountain every day, so nobody from our side knows if she even- well, how she is. The least you can do is let us past you- we're not going over their line, but they have to know what happened from their side. Odds are high they found her, or they know what's going on."

Grady sighed and looked over Phillip one more time. The boy looked like he was going to grow up to become a very serious adult one day. "I've seen your farm- the one Rutger assigned you to, when I come back from the woods in the evenings. You've worked hard on something that you had no choice in. I can respect your work ethic."

Phillip visibly relaxed hearing this. "Thank you," He said carefully. "And so?"

A small smile curved on Grady's face, his thick dark red mustache not moving upward with it. "So, if you can treat this matter with the same care I've already seen in your work, and if you can promise you are going to speak first and act second, than I will even go with you to get you close enough."

Finally, the boy smiled too, although it didn't quite reach his eyes. He nodded.

Cam walked past the two and clapped Grady on the back in appreciation.

"Let's get going, then." And the older man seated himself once more on his stallion's back, leading the two young men further into the misty mountain path.

…

The scrimmage line was somewhere near a deep valley, and the group didn't have far to go. Usually during a normal sunny day, both sides were in eyesight of one another, but today's misty rain conspired with the darkened sky to cast a veil on everything.

They made no effort to be quiet, waiting for an opportunity to announce their less than violent intentions, but tension was high for those from Bluebell, and the new kid was finding it difficult not to follow their silent lead. He wracked his brain in search of easy topics that would keep everyone from being too nervous, but ended up nervous about the topics, and couldn't say anything. Usually talking came easy for him, but he felt like a negotiator who didn't know if he was approaching a wanted anarchist or a mere school-yard bully.

Although with the visibility so low it would be hard not to seem sneaky, Phillip guessed.

He watched Grady curiously as they went, wondering how Georgia got to be so bold, having such a likable father. She probably just didn't take after him.

He was about to ask about the family, but stopped instead when a small stone skipped across the path in front of them.

He looked around to get his bearings, and recognized the slats of long wooden bridge that Lillian and he had passed over on the way here. Over its edge there seemed to be a deep drop, but it was difficult to tell as it faded with distance below.

From the source of the stone came the rapid snort of an animal, and a man with dark hair and a severe expression emerged out of the fog, riding a horse the color of mud. The man was saddled comfortably and blocked the path, squaring his shoulders at them.

Phillip looked the man over, noting the eye patch and occasional scar, and swore under his breath.

Not that he had imagined it would be easy…

"Well I was just thinking about how bored I am, and what do I find? The afternoon's entertainment." The man said with an angular smile, peering down on them from his mount. "Or are you here to discuss fruit?"


	14. Chapter 14: Immediate Misunderstanding

Grady moved to the front of the line and veered his stallion ahead of the two boys, protectively. "We came out to meet you." He addressed the dark rider soberly. "Cam, you know Mako."

Cam's green eyes shone a hard emerald just below the rim of his hat. "Yeah…"

Mako's dark, single eye became a suspicious sliver while he regarded the group in front of him. "Well, obviously you're here to meet us. Otherwise you wouldn't have been so glaringly loud about it. This would be a terrible show of force, if your aim is to get past our line and assault our village." He smiled again, the sharp edges of his face sloping towards them ominously as he leaned forward in his saddle. "Unless I have another group circling the woods behind you all to look forward to? Rutger and his boys couldn't stop me, and you can't either, Grady. You would need the rest of your army."

There was something in the man's smirk- probably the look of confident experience- that threatened to shake Phillip to the core of his being. It was more than self-assuredness; this man had the look of someone who had seen the light fade away from his enemies' eyes and was prepared to see it as many times as necessary to accomplish his ends. He had to wonder from the way he talked, did this man have something to do with the death of the Mayor's sons? It seemed likely.

For the first few minutes, though he willed himself to move, the young auburn-haired farmer found his feet rooted to the ground as if they were tied to tent stakes. His pulse pounded in his ears and drowned out the soft pattering of the rain on the leaves around them.

Grady shook his head in denial, holding eye contact with the other man. "We have no ill intent today." He said a little too loudly, as if to remind everyone.

Mako raised his imposing figure up and took in a deep breath, raven hair swinging in a tight line behind him. Coming down from it he let out a piercing whistle between his teeth that silenced the forest. "Today, you said. That's very telling." He replied, the smile not moving from his thin lips. "Well you have about three minutes to express your feelings, before I run you off of my bridge. I'm sure you know that you're standing over the line and I can't allow thatt."

The man fingered the smooth wooden hilt of what looked to be a sizable blade off the right side of his saddle. It was hard to see clearly with all the moisture in the air, but the occasional glint of metal was enough.

Nerves jumping loudly against it, Phillip finally forced himself into locomotion, ignoring the hint of Grady's horse blocking their path and going around it slowly to get the man's attention.

Mako looked down at him, frowning at his approach. "So, I tell you you're over the line and you attempt to get even closer?!" He gripped the hilt now, unlatching it from the sheath with a quietly ominous _click_.

"Phillip, get back!" Cam ordered from his position behind them, urgency in his voice.

"It's okay," Phillip said. Although there was a clear note of desperation when he said it. "I'm not from Bluebell." He looked up at Mako, whose mouth was turned down into something of a daring leer while his fingertips flexed over the hilt at his side.

The sound of hooves on the bridge behind Mako gave everyone pause. Mako straightened up again, turning his ear almost casually. "About time," The tall man muttered, dark eye still boring into Phillip while he listened.

A moment later a young adult a few years older than Cam or Phillip came from behind the dark rider and reined his tawny horse in expertly. The two riders now sat side by side, their horses almost locked together at the shoulder. There would be no dodging around them without ending up off of the bridge and falling into the churning mist on either side. Far below, the rush of an icy cold mountain river could be heard and felt, shaking the foundation of the very earth after pounding over a nearby cliff as a waterfall. A biting chill emanated from the expanse below the group, and the clearing of this part of the woods was far colder than where the trio from Bluebell had been hiking moments before.

The new rider had dark brown hair, pulled back into a lazy sort of ponytail and two bands of tattoos circling his large upper biceps in a tribal pattern. He seemed easygoing, for someone with a tattoo, Phillip thought. _Maybe it's just when compared to Mako…?_

Either way, the new guy was just as tall as Mako while they were seated, and it looked like he had something like a foot on Phillip. Cam was tall, but wiry in an almost feline way, and while Phillip remembered him being unnaturally quick, he wasn't strong. Or rather, not strong enough for someone like this.

Then he noticed it- a long, sharp spear anchored to the side of the saddle- just between the guy's calf and the saddle's leather side fender.

He began rethinking his move to the front as he saw them sizing him up the same way he had them. They looked him over with scorning confidence that made the young man realize what it must be to live your life as a field mouse.

Taking a few long and drawn out breaths, he forced calm into his rapidly pumping heart, fighting the fire in his veins with the suppressing power of his decision for peace.

Phillip wasn't prepared to take both of them on, even though he knew Cam could fight. He gauged the rancher to his side from the corner of a cool gray eye and knew somehow that Grady wasn't going to help them if it came to a fight.

He swallowed the vestiges of his fear and stood straight, facing the two men and hoping to be viewed as an equal. Right now they knew nothing about him either, how long were they going to give him to plead his case?

Still, leaving without finding Lilly wasn't an option. If these men held the secrets to the other side of the forest, and into the other village, he would find a way to get past them.

As it was the boys from blue were unarmed, facing a saber and a spear. How had Grady expected to keep men like this at bay?! His thoughts turned to alarm. If this was the Konohana patrol, how big were the rest of the men in their village?

Getting his sister back was looking more and more impossible the more he learned about this place. How long was he going to be expected to live in that little village of ranchers, not knowing her fate?

And just like that, the young man came to one of his typically hasty decisions.

…

Kana frowned, looking the new guy over carefully. There was something familiar about him, but he couldn't quite place it.

He watched the group in front of him, smiling inwardly at Grady's complete unease. He knew the man from countless skirmishes, and knew how to get past him and how to throw him off balance. That was no challenge at all. Usually his daughter was around to protect him, which was terribly ironic but funny to watch. Kana was actually more cautious of Georgia on patrol by herself than the two of them together because he knew he would distract her, dulling her edge with his incompetence.

Grady's presence only guaranteed a Konohana victory for the day. The man was too tired from running his ranch, too chubby from eating cheese, and too cowardly to be guarding anything.

Obviously Mako hadn't called him over here for _Grady_.

He eyed the tall guy in the purple hat. Maybe for Cam?

_Nice hat_…

Aside from his questionable fashion sense, at least Cam had a keen eye and the sense of knowledge when deciding whether to move or to stay put. Typically, Bluebell had a good warrior in him, even though it was obvious that fighting is something he learned because he had to and not because he wanted anything to do with it. Even though he was young, it was like squaring off against an old beast who had seen everything and was wary of everything, safe in his lack of trust.

Maybe for Cam.

But then… who was this? He didn't recall anybody from Bluebell like this, but it was possible that he had just not been allowed into the woods this far before. For a split second, he flicked his gaze between Grady and the new guy, looking for a resemblance. Aside from the twinge of red in the kid's hair, there was nothing that looked like the old rancher in him.

Though the kid might grow up to be stronger, he certainly didn't look like much now. A bit stocky with probably some strength, but short. There was an anxiety in his eyes too, desperation as if he had much to lose.

Kana became even more confused when the kid opened up his mouth and claimed not to be from Bluebell.

_Really_?

Kana barely suppressed his laugh. "You just said you aren't from there?" He asked, breaking away from his musings.

The kid glared, switching his attention to Kana now. "That's what I said. I have nothing to do with either of your villages," Here something changed in his face and a look of determination slowly overtook his young features. "I'm not from this area at all or part of your feud, so I demand passage as a visitor!"

Mako nearly roared with laughter at this and the kid stopped, confused.

"Did you think that was going to work, boy?!" Mako yelled, eyebrow diving back into place over his good eye. "You waltz over here with an escort from _your_ village, Grady leading you over the line himself, and expect to just ASK to keep going onto our territory? Who is strategizing for Bluebell nowadays? Rose?! Is Rutger finally keeling over as we speak? That old buzzard I knew it was only a matter of time before he'd go senile and leave the place overrun by hens…"

Mako carried on with this sort of mirth for a few more minutes, and Kana was amused to find the new kid completely dumbfounded by it, as if he had expected them to take him seriously.

Finally after his companion was recovering from his fit of entertainment, Kana decided to ask a few questions of his own. "Hey, kid."

The kid snapped his head back in Kana's direction, jaw set in anger.

"Calm down. I just have a few questions for you before we kick you off our bridge." Kana said easily. "You said you weren't from this area…?"

The boy nodded. "That's right."

"And how long have you been in the area then?"

"I've been here the better part of a week, that's it."

A week…

"And what was your name?"

"Phillip." He turned the name over in his mind. What was familiar about-

Kana paused, suddenly remembering the name the girl had muttered in her delirium the day he found her. He put a hand on his hip and raised an eyebrow, confidently seated in his saddle.

_What's so special about him?_ He wondered. The boy looked totally normal. Aside from having the guts to approach Mako, there was no spark, nothing unusual.

And almost immediately, he misunderstood.

What did someone like Lillian see in a kid like this?


	15. Chapter 15: Proof of Life

Even though his face was heated red and he was uncontrollably angry, the spark of recognition in the horseman's eyes when Phillip had said his name did not escape the young man's notice.

"You know it. You've heard my name." He accused.

Kana smiled easily at the tone in his voice. "Have I…? I guess it is familiar- Maybe even young kids have a name like that these days. I hear the name Phillip, I picture an old man I used to know from far away in the city, yeah?"

The kid frowned. "I don't believe you."

Kana kept his hand on his hip, scanning the forest behind Cam and Grady as if he wasn't listening. "Then don't believe me. I'm not sure why a name like yours is supposed to matter, anyway."

He glanced back to kid's cool gray eyes to find them lit with the embers of a molten fury.

"It matters to Lillian." He ground out, hands flexing into fists at his sides.

Another spark, more recognition.

Not wanting to play any more word games, Phillip pressed on and took another step forward. He knew his words weren't going to reach them somehow, and panic tightened in his throat. Should he act?

He glanced at Cam, who shook his head in a silent 'no'.

He turned back to- who was this?

He stopped. "Wait- What was your name? Or are you too important to introduce yourself to other people? Perhaps Mako would be kind enough-"

"Kana." The brunette rider snapped out.

"Well, Kana. You can't deny you don't know Lillian's name. I may have just met you, but you're pretty easy to read actually." The boy accused, chin held high. "Just like an open book- I know exactly what you're thinking."

This gave Kana pause. There was someone else who used to say that to him. Maybe it was true, but he didn't care too much. "Yeah?" He managed a curious smile. "Then read me." He challenged. His tone was biting.

"Fine." Phillip drew himself up again, as if he could make himself taller by willing it to happen. "You know or have met Lillian."

Kana raised his eyebrows and said nothing, as if he were listening to the rain that pounded on the bridge behind him.

"She's talked about me."

The horseman rubbed his chin, indifferent.

"You know where she is or how she is doing, and are refusing to say it."

A shrug and a small smile. _Kid's got a mouth on him_… Kana replaced a flyaway hair and tucked it behind his ear.

"Which means that either one: you think you need to have an advantage over me by withholding information about her, or two-"

Kana was listening to the sound of the waterfall nearby, then realized the new guy had stopped speaking. He finally turned his full attention back to him, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Or two?" He asked when his curiosity won out.

"Two: You feel ashamed about her situation and don't want to talk about it."

Kana's easy smile faded and became a scowl.

And Phillip knew his arrow had hit its mark.

"So if you're done playing around with matters of life and death, I'd appreciate an update on how she is doing. Lillian and I were together a week ago, and I know for a fact that she came to your side of the mountain and is in Konohana somewhere."

Despite the fact that he found he was incredibly irritated, Kana could almost admire the kid's courage.

To his side, Mako eyed Kana suspiciously. Was there a reason he didn't want to bring her up? "Kana…" He prompted.

"Yeah, fine." The other practically spat. "Lillian's with us." He admitted.

Phillip felt his chest swell with relief- he didn't realize how he had been unable to breathe until now. "And her welfare?" He urged.

"She's perfectly well. Now." Kana added the last as an afterthought, scratching his chin again.

Wait.

"What do you mean by 'now'? What happened?"

The horseman frowned again, looking him over with an eyebrow raised. "That's what I'd like to know."

And once again Phillip felt his chest constrict, a dull fury still smoldering behind his carefully masked expression. There was something about the way this guy could sit there casually and speak a lot without managing to tell anyone anything… It made it obvious he wasn't taking this seriously at all. "Where is she now? Stop dodging my questions" He demanded.

Kana shrugged. "It doesn't matter. She's going to be living in Konohana from here on out. Just like you are now with Bluebell." He waved at Grady and Cam. "I'd don't know how you know her, or what your relationship is, but I suggest you forget about her. Even if you love her."

The young farmer wasn't about to leave it at that. "Where is she now?" He repeated. A naked threat was in his voice even as he nearly chocked on his own words.

Kana hadn't moved a muscle even though Phillip was bristling, struggling to keep himself in check. The young man had not been this angry in… ever.

Kana sighed, watching the boy struggle with himself. "Would you quit asking me that? What is she- your girlfriend? I'm telling you she's fine, yeah? You're going to have to accept that you won't be seeing her anymore." He narrowed his dark brown eyes. "Or are you just here to pick a fight- one you could never win?"

Kana nudged his horse closer to the boy, slowly making him backtrack to the dirt road behind him, maneuvering him off of the bridge entirely. "Now run along." He commanded dismissively.

"You say she's alright, but you can't provide proof." Phillip said loudly, still backing away. "Your words mean nothing here and so you're deciding to force me away. That shows your cowardice. How are you going to prove that she's alright? All I hear from the villagers on this side is how horrible you people are- can you prove them wrong- that you aren't a bunch of thieves and murderers? How am I supposed to know she's really alive, you bastard!?"

Mako chuckled again, his dark horse flicking water from its mane with a shake of the head. "What if we're all of those things, kid?" He asked darkly.

Kana stopped advancing his horse, thinking about it. "…Alright, then. She'll be at the cooking festival tomorrow afternoon. I'll bring her myself. And Phillip?"

Phillip responded with an icy glare, not trusting himself to open up his mouth and say anything else.

"She lives in Konohana, now. She'll be coming back home after the competition is over. With me."

Kana sat there in his saddle and said nothing else, waiting for them to leave, watching as Cam had to practically drag the kid away by his coat.

…

"Now I can see why you want to KILL those people!" Raved Phillip, for about the fifth time. He was angrier than he ever been in his life, and the entire way back to Bluebell he alternated between silently kicking things into the river they were skirting around and yelling loudly.

Grady had stayed behind to continue to guard the line; he'd asked the boys to have Howard come later in the evening to relieve him, just in case there was more activity than usual.

Talking to Howard was the last thing either of them wanted to do, but because Phillip was in such a sour mood he offered to do it. He felt like nothing could get any worse- who cared if that guy got angry at them for going too far?

After a long day like this he'd normally want to relax a bit, but Phillip's blood was at the boiling point, and he would take on any work that was offered to keep his mind off of it.

What did that Kana really know about his sister? Would joining up with their patrols help him to find out? He wasn't making any headway at all by raising a few animals and sitting back from the front.

If he were to be honest with himself, he wanted a piece of Kana. That guy had been smug and dismissive in the face of Phillip's honest questions. He provided only enough information to cause more worry.

_I wonder if I'll be able to sleep at all, tonight_.

One thing that was certain- there was no question now about attending the cooking contest. Entering was still out of the question- Phillip was in no hurry to identify himself as a villager of Bluebell's, although that might happen no matter what he wanted.

Not that he minded the animals- having fresh milk every day had been amazing, he did have to admit that he hadn't ever eaten as well in his life as in the last week.

It was late when he walked into the café, slamming the door open- it shook the building. "We're back." He announced.

Laney had been serving someone a piece of pie and jumped nearly out of her skin. "H-hi!" She tried to smile at him but failed miserably.

"Hey yourself." He said.

Cam followed behind him, shaking the rain off of his hat before snuggling it back over his ashen blond head.

"Phillip!" Howard came from behind the counter, hands folded in front of him as if he was always excited. "It's been a long day- I heard you went to the mountain with Cam?"

Phillip reached in his bag and grabbed a mint, handing it to Howard.

"Ohh- and you know just what I like too! You're so thoughtful."

Phillip just glared at him. "Cam took me to talk with the other side."

Slowly Howard's smile faltered, and he looked over Phillip's head to Cam. "Cam," His tone was still unnaturally happy.

Cam met Howard's gaze, his expression unreadable. "I know what you said. I took him anyways."

Howard smiled again. "I see. We'll talk about it tonight, then. Don't go to bed just yet."

Phillip saw the exchange, but Laney's behavior was more telling. She immediately ran over to Cam and started fussing over him, brushing water off of his shoulder and offering him a dry towel. He wondered what 'talking about it tonight' really meant.

"Phillip." Howard said.

"Yes?"

"I do hope you'll stay and tell me all about it- I love the latest gossip. Laney will bring us some tea."

Phillip got the feeling it was going to be a long stay, but he nodded and sat down, wondering how much Howard should end up knowing.

Probably not too much.


	16. Chapter 16: Sunlight under Clouds

Lillian was fed up with everything.

After the rain had slowed she'd finally taken to exploring her new farm, trying to sort out her feelings. Normally a cold day like this would drive her into action- she and Phillip were used to moving in chill weather to keep warm- but there was something in the haze of this particular spring day that had held her captive. Maybe it was the promise of an actual home after years of vagrancy that was making her feel so at peace?

That couldn't be it, though.

She walked out of the field and circled over to the barn, brushing the water off of her blue vest.

She grabbed a broom that was leaning up against a stall in the barn and began sweeping dirt around in no order, needing to feel her muscles in motion.

There's no way we're staying.

It's not worth it.

_I know, I KNOW it's not worth it_, she argued with herself now, brushing the ground more vigorously, scattering dried leaves and mouse poop in all directions.

It was just…

_Just what Phillip and I have always dreamed of_. She thought, frustrated. _A place to call ours- that no one could take from us_. The truth of it made her heart race. They had longed for something safe and stable since their parents passed.

Even if this place was a deception and she knew it was not either of those things. With life-threatening conflicts there was a shroud of peace that covered the mountain, not a real one. Even though the villagers here seemed to live with a sense of harmony and contentment, she knew that things could change any moment. For all she knew, her and Phillip's arrival could be the very thing that spurred the conflict back into one of true violence and hatred- how was she supposed to bear the possibility of that?

But for some reason, standing in the middle of a foggy morning rain, in a field laden with reaching wildflowers and ringed by the cover of two dozen oak trees, it felt like she was standing in the center of a new and different world. One that could be remade, could be tamed or left free. A place that would become anything she willed it to be.

It made her feel strong, having a challenge to rise to.

It made her feel vulnerable, not being able to leave.

She wanted to scream.

Looking down she realized that she'd been sweeping a huge angry patterns into the packed dirt floor of the barn and clenched her fists, finally electing to chuck the broom as far away from her as possible- it clattered against the far wall and fell without breaking onto a small pile of firewood.

She was too powerless here.

Shaking her head she went to pick the broom back up.

_Seriously, what am I doing…?_

She decided that since she was here, and could at least do something about the leaves and thick dirt that covered everything. She took up the broom again and started on one side, this time using her frustration to give her an edge over the mess.

Like it or not, they would have to leave soon. Even if Phillip was in the same situation that she was, one of them was bound to break free sooner or later and find the other. They knew when they were in over their heads, and this was certainly too much for her to take on. A farm?! She knew nothing about them!

And they would race away from this mountain and it's cursed rivalry and it's vicious people and it's stupid…

For a split second Kana's face came to mind, halting her silent tirade. The way he had looked standing quietly in the rain after she had forced him away, it had changed something in her.

Were they really vicious?

A grimace crossed her fair features.

It doesn't matter how he looked. Or how kind the nurse and doctor had been… they thought they had a new recruit on their hands, of course they would be kind to their own.

'That's for our protection!' Is what he had said when confronted with her imprisonment.

Well, maybe she would never really belong if she did stay.

So it was settled, get to the other village and find Phillip. Find Phillip, and get away. Get away and end up… where?

They had come here to learn about this place anyways, would staying for just a few weeks really be so bad?

She sighed, knowing the answer already. She finished sweeping the dirt back into the animal yard (devoid of having actual animals), and headed back outside.

She watched the clouds close in over her head, their muddled shadows casting a foreboding mood on the entire field surrounding the little house.

Of course it would be bad. Despite everything that was happening the place was hauntingly enchanting, cut off from the rest of the world and protected- even the feuding hadn't been reported anywhere. To stay for a little while might mean staying forever, and that would be a true loss of freedom.

Not wanting to waste any more time moping around, Lillian decided to see how strong the watchmen were around here.

She set off in the direction of the end of her leash- to Kana's Animals. If memory served from yesterday, there was a forked path not far away that led up and into thick woods- that may well be the way out of Konohana.

She just hoped she wouldn't have to run into _him_ again along the way.

…

Nori looked over from watching the river as it rushed past her in wild exuberance. She smiled to herself as she often did, cherishing the wild moment.

She could hear her grandfather's waterwheel creaking upriver, where the force of its revolutions was put to use in the seed mill inside. She breathed deep into the humid air, inhaling the energy that seemed to fill the town today.

Maybe it was because there was a cooking festival tomorrow?

They really had to win this one.

Higher up on the mountain more plants grew in better variety- the soil and air were different, and things got more sunlight. The fishing was already better on the Konohana side, but gaining the summit always increased their food supply and let them find more varieties of seeds to plant in the next season.

She was definitely going to enter. Herb salad was a seasonal favorite, after all, and she had kept a lot of lavender from winter (usually Ying requested flowers, or Rahi requested them for Ying, who would send them on to her parents). This time, the lavender was incredibly fresh, and Kana had brought her chamomile two days ago. All that was left was to get some mint.

It didn't take a glance at the sky to remind her that going to the mountain today wasn't a great idea. Visibility was minimal, the patrols were bound to be on edge, and she didn't want to get in their way.

But she knew if she didn't go, and all they had was onion salad or turnip salad, they had a good chance of loosing.

Maybe there was a way that she wouldn't have to go by herself?

With all the greens available to her village, the salad round was usually the one they could win. Yun was making either Asazuke (A fresh mix of cucumber and turnip with her special twist, bok choy), or Tofu Salad (with onion for a spicy freshness, and turnip for a woody taste). Those dishes were a great choice because Bluebell wasn't likely to have any of the vegetables necessary.

Cucumber Namu (delicious with a little drizzle of oil), was something Nori made very well, but she wanted to meet the other village head-on with their most likely choice. Since winter had ended and everything was available to them fresh, Bluebell was likely to make Herb salad, and just throw eggs or milk into everything else, because it's all they had. She was curious to see if that big guy Howard would bring a potato salad again- it was the one salad they made over there that she actually wanted to try.

Dishes with potatoes were usually very hearty and comforting, and even though salad tended to be more of a starter, Nori (who could only occasionally have milk) really wanted to taste it, just once.

Not that she would ever say that to anyone out loud.

She shook some rain from her umbrella and retied her strawberry-colored headband over her long jet black hair and set off for the teahouse.

…

Yun was sold out.

Today she'd wanted to make sushi bowls, but there was just no one that had any eggs. True, the dish could be made easily enough with just sashimi and rice, but the fish paste and egg were her important secret ingredients and she would not put something in her café that was less than perfect. Detail in the flavor was everything.

Usually she got eggs from Rahi when he went to the other village to see his siblings, but because of the chaos of the last week with the new arrivals, nobody had been allowed past either patrol.

Rahi and his brothers were the only people allowed to cross the barrier designated by the contests, and it had been that way for so long that nobody remembered why anymore. It was probably an agreement made by the former mayor and Rutger (one of few), during the cooling down period in the war. Because Rahi and his brothers Diego and Enrique (they were triplets), traded goods with each other, eventually they had made small quantities of unique items available for purchase to their home villagers.

The items Rahi typically stocked in his store (horse treats, oil, seaweed), were actually a mere fraction of what was available, and most people knew that when he put rare things up for sale in his shop it meant that there was a new variety in the back room. When Yun visited him during an afternoon off she always looked for the telltale edamame or sea urchin to let her know that she could buy eggs.

It was like that for Ayame too- she loved sweets and often would secure rice candy and have Yun make dumplings out of season for her before the café opened.

But today, and for the whole week, pickings had been slim.

Rahi was irritated because he couldn't make any money off of his secret goods, Ayame was irritated without her sugar fix, the one silver lining was that the Tea that everyone here so loved was more delicious than ever, because Yun had had a longer time to prepare it.

Ying had helped her today, and was diligently behind the counter this afternoon, cleaning up a few small cups from the earlier lunch customers. The small girl was shy, and bolted for the back room when the door opened, but stopped when she saw that it was Nori, and hugged her panda to her chest with wide eyes, as if unsure what to do.

Nori smiled easily at Ying and waved to her from the door.

"H-hi…" said Ying.

"Hi Ying," Nori said in a gentle voice. "How's your panda doing today? Is she healthy?"

Ying nodded, then finished her retreat into the back room, making her grandmother chuckle from behind the counter.

"Ying's really taken a liking to you," She told the girl in the pink yukata.

"Even though she runs away?" The girl said her dark eyes on the door Ying had bolted through.

Yun nodded sagely. "_Especially_ because she runs away. She gets nervous around people that she likes." She put her hand over her chest in a light bow. "She was very happy that you fixed her panda for her the other day. Thank you."

Nori shook her head, a light smile still playing on her lips. "It's alright. I didn't mind it." She scanned the large room with her eyes. "Did Hiro come here today? It's his day off, isn't it?"

"He's on the other side, dear."

"Okay, thanks! I need his help to gather a few ingredients."

"Ingredients… that's right!" The older woman's face lit up with excitement. "We're going to win tomorrow, with both of us participating, I'm sure of it. What are you bringing?"

Nori's smile stopped being playful and took on some determination. "I'm going to beat them with their best dish- Herb salad. You can't make salad properly without green veggies, and I'll show them that even with the same ingredients available we'll always make it better!"

Yun chuckled and beamed at her. "With that and my Tofu Salad we'll certainly come out on top this time. Good luck to you tomorrow dear."

Nori nodded. "May the fortune of the cooking festival be with you."

And she headed over to see Hiro.


	17. Chapter 17: Don't Follow Me

Nori wasn't at all surprised to find Hiro enjoying a serving of bamboo dumplings and green tea, chewing thoughtfully to himself. He was so enthralled in his relaxation, he was actually leaning back in the café's little chair and had his eyes closed as if there was a symphony playing in his head.

More likely he was thinking about the names of all the joints in the human body or something, she thought.

Not knowing why she did it, she reached carefully over and took his teacup off the table and hid behind his chair, watching him intently.

When he was done chewing and had leaned the chair back in place he reached for the cup without opening his eyes. His hand spread out over the table cloth looking for it, here and there.

Eventually he cracked an eye open with a frown and saw that it wasn't there at all. He straightened up in the seat, looking around, and that's when Nori tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

His reaction was more than she could've hoped for.

He straightened his legs in surprise as if to stand up but only succeeded in throwing the chair off balance and falling out of it.

Just as she was preparing to tease him about his reaction he stumbled into her- trying to catch himself and failing miserably.

She ended up with one arm holding the hot tea really far away from them, and the other around his shoulder to keep him from falling in some sort of awkward embrace, with one of his arms slung around her waist. She looked down at his flustered expression and couldn't hold it in anymore, letting out a series of small, hiccupping laughs.

His face went bright red and he jumped away from her, trying to cover his embarrassment in a cough.

"Sorry Hiro! I didn't think I'd surprise you that much." She was still amused but for some reason couldn't make eye contact with him for a moment. She took a deep breath and held his tea back out to him, looking away. "I don't think any got spilled." She said as a consolation.

"Oh- thank you- wait- why did you do such a thing?" He said all in a rush, setting the tea on the table with a frown.

Why did she-?

She looked over at his mussy brown hair and his serious expression and thought about what a contradiction he was.

"I don't know. I've never seen you so relaxed. It made me want to poke you to see if it was really you, I guess?"

He put his hand indignantly on his hip. "That's ridiculous. Of course I am me."

Then he smiled, and she found there was a little tug on the corner of her mouth, too. "I'm sorry- you were just adorable sitting there half asleep like that."

His frown came back. "Adorable? You sound like Dr. Ayame. I'll have you know I am a grown man."

"I know that- but my grandpa does that too, falling asleep after a good meal with some tea. It's cute." She shrugged, waiting for him to change the topic, not knowing why she was feeling embarrassed.

_Can we talk about something else now, please…?_

"Cute…" He said, thinking. "So I'm either adorable like a little kid, or cute like an old man."

She grinned at that. "I guess?"

"Somehow Nori, that perturbs me a little bit."

Her dark eyes opened widely. "I didn't mean anything by it- it's just an observation. I'll leave you back to your meal, then." She folded her hands in front of her and gave a small bow, turning fluidly on her heal in clear retreat. "I hope you're able to continue resting, Hrio. See you later."

"Wait- Nori." He said, stopping her.

She didn't turn around. "Yes?"

"Why don't you join me, we can have a snack together." He offered.

"No, I'd better not- I have a few things to prepare before the festival tomorrow."

"Oh." He said, not understanding. _Then what was she doing wasting time here?_

He watched her small frame as she waved lightly to Yun on her way out the door, perplexed. Girls were so silly, sometimes.

Coming to no conclusion, Hiro sat down to finish the rest of his tea.

…

It didn't take Nori long to head towards the mountain after that, rain or no. While it was true she almost never went up there, and had never gone alone, her heart was set on it now. Especially after the way her innocent teasing had bothered Hiro, she didn't want to ask him for a favor or cause anymore trouble. It was for her contest entry dish, too, so she should take care of it.

When she was a little girl her grandpa had gone with her often to catch bugs, so it was a place with fond memories, and she had her umbrella and loved being out in the rain. Altogether it should be a good trip.

She passed by Kana's animals on the way out of town and saw that it was closed.

_That's right… it's Friday. He must be patrolling_.

That made her feel a little better about venturing into the forest in this weather. She continued on, and stopped briefly to wave at Sheng. He didn't see her, as he was busy watching his field from under an umbrella and chewing on a long stalk of bamboo.

Anyone else would have had a hard time eating raw bamboo that hadn't even been split open and cooked, but not Sheng. There he was in all of his panda-hat glory, gnawing away at something so splintery and tough it should've been making his gums bleed. He looked… happy, if that was possible for a man with a never-ending scowl that was made up entirely of a single long, bushy unibrow.

She thought he was best left alone and continued on into the forest, hoping to find her ingredients fast.

…

Lillian had lost track of time. She had seen a few useful things in the forest along the way and had gathered them- some plants, a few more bamboo stalks (who would've thought that was all it took to get past the outer guard), and a couple of walnuts, which she cracked open on a rock and ate immediately. It had been an inordinate amount of time since she had last eaten, and the little handful of nuts she's just had only served to awaken the starving beast within her.

She tried to concentrate on just putting one step in front of the other and not slipping in puddles or on any of the little green frogs that seemed to keep appearing from everywhere.

She should've been more prepared… but who would've thought her first opportunity for escape would come along this early? There had been no choice but to take it. The very basis of any survival was the freedom to move.

It was terribly tempting to stop and rest, but she knew better. She had to get to the other village and seek shelter. Even in her tired delirium, she knew that the likely outcome would be that she and Phillip both become prisoners of the other side together, but she wasn't about to leave this mountain without him. Whatever was going to happen, they were going to face this challenge together.

The people of Konohana hadn't been that bad- eccentric, from what she'd seen, but that was probably a result of their seclusion out here. Who could blame them for forming unusual habits and finding odd ways to cope with their situation?

Maybe the villagers in Bluebell weren't as bad as everybody said. They were all just people after all. Fundamentally wanting security and happiness.

Finally she came to a little clearing off the side of the main pathway that had a fallen tree across straight across it. The cools had opened up momentarily and little beams of light were filtering down through the canopy amongst the rain. A single white butterfly was at the edge of the path and flying in a dazed pattern, as if it had just awoken from a long slumber. After a moment of starting transfixed at the beauty she decided to sit down- which felt amazing to her tired legs.

Maybe some time was all she needed to sort everything out.

She knew the dizziness wasn't just from running around today without sleep, it was quickly becoming obvious that she hadn't recovered fully from her hospitalization and the trauma of her accident over a week ago. Not that she wanted to dwell on it, but what was she going to do if this walk took all night? Sleep in the forest? Maybe build some kind of lean-to shelter from the rain and pull her arms inside her dress for warmth?

She had no sense of humor right now to even scoff at the thought. It was too close to being an actual possibility.

The situation was bad, but not bad enough to make her turn around. No way was she going to be locked inside again! Taking her chances with the wild animals seemed much better.

_Who am I kidding, that sounds terrifying!_

She put her head in hands, exhausted and overwhelmed, and just sat for a while, getting pelted with rain. "What am I going to do?" She asked no one in particular.

"Well for starters, it depends on what you need right now." A timid voice said from in front of her.

Lillian's lilac eyes flew open and took in a small form in the mist. It dimly registered that the rain had stopped falling on her, and as her eyes focused she was able to tell that this was the girl the nurse had waved to when she first had walked the village.

What was her name… too many to remember.

Her heart raced and some of her exhaustion left her when she realized that this encounter meant the game was up- she had been caught by the village again.

Another rush of panic washed over her and drove her to her feet- she hoped the girl couldn't tell how dizzy getting up so fast had made her- and shot her fist out into the girl's stomach.

The girl dropped the umbrella she'd shielded them with and doubled over in pain as Lillian ran with all of her remaining strength, down the path for several heartbeats until the clearing was out of sight.

She thought she heard the girl's timid voice coming up behind her but that shouldn't be possible for how hard she had been hit.

_Don't follow me!_

Lillian didn't risk looking back and kept running, tears finally streaming from her eyes as she went, her legs weak and her knees buckling. All she could do was pray that they didn't give out and betray her.


	18. Chapter 18: A Turning Point

The young farm girl dove into the first good cover she could find off the side of the pathway when her legs finally began to sink back towards the earth and listened intently, with all the fear of a hunted animal that was just waiting for the trap to snap shut.

Her legs were trembling and she was cold, but she was not caught yet.

Tears still fell from her eyes, but they were silent as her wide eyes tried to watch everything all at once from the bushes. Her ears strained to know the sound of approaching threats, but kept bringing her only the peaceful sounds of rain, frog song and rustling leaves swept by wind.

The exhaustion crept back over her and fought with the fear the roiled in her belly. One of the muscles in her arm started twitching a nervous rhythm without her telling it to move.

Why was this happening to her, to them? She shook her head to clear it and angrily wiped her tears with the back of her hand as she crouched low, not wanting to get soaked by sitting down.

_Life is hard. Keep getting back up and everything will be okay_, she told herself firmly.

_Everything will eventually be okay…_

But it was getting colder. Tired or not, she should get moving again. Maybe she'd get a second wind a make it through the night.

Just as she stepped out from her cover the sound of hooves on wet earth slopped messily in the distance. It was hard to make out how many, but definitely more than one animal.

She cringed and dove back behind the bushes, this time kneeling in cold, dark mud.

This day was quickly becoming the second worst day of her life.

Voices followed the hooves and she caught the middle of a conversation.

"Did you see his outfit?" It wasn't difficult to pick out Kana's cheerful voice. "That khaki gave him away immediately. Whatever the situation was last week, he's definitely on their side now. Guess that means we don't have to hold back."

"Do you ever hold back?" A deeper, more foreboding rumble came from the second horse. It held an unhappy edge, unless that was how this person always talked?

"Oh, c'mon, you aren't seriously upset that nobody wanted to discuss fruit trees?! They only care about animals over there anyway, man, they wouldn't know how to care for trees- they'd probably water them everyday and drown them!"

The deep voice laughed easily at that. "They take a certain kind of care."

The talking stopped as they got closer, were they listening instead? Had she made a mistake? She looked around to make sure none of her clothing was sticking out through her cover.

Lillian held her breath. If these two were the guard, all they had to do was keep going and she could travel freely to the other side of the mountain.

She cheered inwardly for them to hurry up- this mud was nasty, too.

Then footfalls could be heard coming from the path she had just taken and her heart sank. It had to be that girl.

"Hark!" Boomed the deeper voice. "If it isn't Nori come to greet us!"

Nori, that was her name. Lillian felt bad for hitting her, but at the time it was instinct. Now moments later she still wasn't home free, even after all this!

_Go AWAY!_ She thought.

"N-not greet you, exactly." The girl's quiet voice huffed.

Lillian hear Kana get off of his horse. The dismount was smooth, and even on the wet ground he made almost no noise when he landed.

"What's going on?" Alarm was in his voice. "You have an umbrella- but you're completely drenched!"

"The new girl…" Nori panted. "I just tried to greet her, and she-"

"She what? Don't tell me she's on the mountain?" Kana's alarm came out more like anger this time.

Lillian cringed. Great. Still, at least this wasn't the worst day of her life. She would bear a day like this a thousand times to bring her parents back to life.

_Come and get me, you jerk. _Lillian sneered behind her cover. Maybe this would work. They would go back to the clearing and give her a head start. All she had to do was get past the border, right? As soon as they were out of hearing range, she would count to fifty, and then start her sprint.

She carefully changed her kneeling position to angle her towards the way she wanted to go-and suddenly a loud gurgle emerged from her stomach that stopped everything.

Lillian resisted the urge to let out the world's longest stream of profanities.

Kana's was the first voice she heard and he spoke quietly. "Did she… come this way?" He asked.

Nori probably nodded or something because then his footfalls got uncomfortably close to her hiding spot.

_Run, or fight? What am I supposed to do, climb a tree or something?_

…

Mako was having a good day. Even though he'd had to spend more time away from his farm than ever because patrolling had increased, this many exciting things didn't usually happen in at the same time. Ever since Ina took over, the policy had been 'each village only worries about their own business'. While he could admire that kind of focus (it wasn't going to be easy to forgive what Bluebell had done to them or to convince others to forget their anger), the recent peace had been boring.

What had all of the training been for? He wondered if his son was learning how to fight, or if Ina was only having him read books everyday. Mako was thankful for Kana, who was following his wishes to teach the boy offensive riding a few days a week. He might just grow up prepared for conflict after all.

He missed the action of fighting with the other village, nothing was worse than waiting for something to happen.

Meeting Phillip earlier had been a breath of fresh air, even though he was loyal to Bluebell. It was going to be better that way, actually. He was young and brazen and would put up a good fight. It would be a challenge to their defenses to keep him away.

His sister, now lost in the woods for the second time in nearly a week, was proving to be just as energetic. She was the one they had to keep from leaving, if they ever wanted to have enough food to feed everyone. She had been given the largest property in the town, defunct after years of neglect and damage in the conflicts. Nobody had been willing to take it because it was on the outskirts and would be the first property attacked if things went out of control again.

But the courage this girl had shown against them- even punching sweet Nori straight in the gut- he really liked her spirit- she may just have the nerve that was needed to turn that farm around.

A sharp rumble came from the bushes nearby and interrupted his thoughts. He tried to place the noise, but Kana's quiet question clinched it- she had she come this way and was hiding not a few feet out of sight.

He watched unmoving as the tall tanned rancher confidently approached the thicket and leaned down, only to be surprised by two little pale hands shooting out of the bush and slapping him on either side of the head- boxing his ears.

Mako let out a roar of laughter at the look on Kana's face as the kid stood up immediately and started to go around the bushes.

"Why you little-" Kana started, looking dazed.

A few snapping twigs sounded before Lillian appeared on the other side in a streak of motion.

She only got a few bounds away from her cover before Mako, having dismounted himself, had caught her by the wrist. "No you don't."

And finally Lillian had to admit the game was up. She had nothing left to fight with, and was completely overpowered.

Despair hit her like a blow and she nearly fell from it. They would never let her leave their sight again, she was sure of it this time.

Was she going to fight, and die in their war now too? She had no answers. Mako produced a rope from his saddle bag and bound her arms behind her back, telling her to walk.

She obeyed, thoroughly intimidated by him and too exhausted to speak.

On the walk back to the village Kana kept a horse between them, and Lillian knew he didn't think what he was doing was right.

But he did it anyways. She tried not to make this fresh betrayal of his personal, he'd already explained his reasons- but now she knew that he was not going to do anything to help her. Even though she should have been prepared for it, it hurt.

…

Nori sat quietly back at the hospital, debating what to do. This was the kind of thing that had kept her away from the mountain. She didn't mind going up there for a picknick in the daylight, or during a festival, she felt safe enough then. Normally it was just too untamed and wild to even step foot into.

Like it had been today.

She held her hands carefully in her lap to keep them from shaking.

In the other room she could hear Hiro, in the middle of a long tirade about personal wellbeing and how Lillian should have taken better care of herself. She had a fever again. He wasn't yelling, just not stopping even to breathe.

Normally she admired his ability to tell other people what they needed to hear when no one else cared enough to say it, but today Nori felt… ashamed.

It was pretty obvious that Lillian had been ready for anything in order to get away. She didn't seem to care that she had put her life in danger by pushing herself carelessly- this was the sort of thing that set Hiro off. But Nori had to watch that poor girl being forcibly dragged all the way back down the mountain with her hands tied behind her back like she was some kind of war criminal, sobbing inconsolably that she'd been discovered.

_We must all seem like monsters…_

And a lecture from the normally kind Nurse Hiro was the last thing that she probably needed right now.

Kana had excused himself quickly after leaving her at the hospital, and Mako was outside the room acting as a guard, saying nothing.

Their behavior was unusual, so Nori was pretty sure they (or at least Kana) felt badly about the whole thing too.

Finally she stood up, hearing enough, and marched over to room where Lillian was.

Mako looked at her as she approached him. His body was blocking the door.

She didn't want to deal with something like this. Being assertive was not something Nori was good at, so she just stared at the much taller, much older man whom she had grown up learning to respect, having no idea what to say.

After a while of them just starting at each other, Mako cleared his throat and moved a step to the side.

She wondered what kind of face she was making for him to just move like that.

Hiro saw her come out of the corner of his eye and kept going mid-sentence.

"…you aren't thinking about what will happen after you're gone. Do you think your brother would want to see you this way? I'm sure he would want you to protect yourself! The human body is a very delicate thing and it takes great care to keep it healthy- you can't live life on autopilot." The young nurse had a hand on his hip and was using the other to make frustrated gestures. "Pardon my forwardness in telling you all of this Lillian, but you are a part of our town now, of our family-"

"My only family is my brother." The girl said quietly, interrupting. She had finally gotten a hot bath but her mood had not improved. She sat back in the hospital bed, a tray of rice balls sitting in front of her, too angry now to eat. A towel was still wrapped around her hair, and she was wearing one of their thick white robes again.

That got Hiro to slow down a bit "We-well, that may have been true at one point, but I'm willing to bet that there are people here who care for you now and-"

"I'm not going back to be locked inside that stupid farmhouse!" The girl said, ire roused at last. "If I can't be with my brother than I might as well die, you can kill me- because he is the only reason I am alive at all, and all we have is each other! We're two seconds apart, for God's sake and you people managed to make it two seconds and a week!"

Hiro shut up entirely at her scathing tone, looking flabbergasted, and Nori stepped forward.

"You can stay at my house, if you like."

The girl narrowed her eyes, dark amethyst now that the sun had set. "Why?" She demanded.

Why? Why was she offering? Nori put her hand over her stomach, the muscles there still aching a bit. "Because you can leave at any time."

Lillian's breathing slowed as she tried not to let her confusion show on her face.

"I just…" Nori tried to find a way to express what she was feeling. "I don't like it, any of this." She directed her attention to Hiro and made her normally quiet and gentle voice loud enough that Mako could hear from outside. "These boys are making our village look bad. This is not the way to welcome a visitor!"

Hiro's mouth was hanging open a bit but he quickly shut it. He looked like he still had more to say.

Nori coughed in her hand, trying to compose herself and smiled shyly at the girl. "I'm sorry that I discovered you earlier, you may have been able to meet your brother by now. I'd like to make it up to you by offering a safe place to sleep and a warm meal. We won't lock any doors, we won't force you to stay."

Mako stepped in the room then. "I couldn't help but over hear you, Nori…" There was an edge of challenge in it.

"You were supposed to hear me." She said. "I know Ina wants her to stay and take on that difficult farm, but I don't care. I want us to remember who is innocent in all of this."

Lillian felt a rush of relief at the sincerity of the girl's words. It seemed like someone here was sane after all?

She didn't know what to say so she just got up from the bed and walked over to Nori, surprising the girl with a hug that lasted for several moments.

Nori could tell the girl was holding back tears because she was shaking.

"Thank you…" Lillian whispered.

"It gets better." Nori stated easily.

Lillian let go of the embrace and cringed. There was more already?

"I hear your brother will be going to the cooking festival tomorrow. Let's go together and greet him properly."

And for the first time in her life, Lillian knew she had a chance at making a real and true friend.

"Okay." She smiled widely, not able to help herself.


	19. Chapter 19: Preparations

It had been awkward, after that.

Hiro had worked hard to recover the situation, saying that he had nothing to do with her retrieval and was only concerned as a Doctor in training, for her safety. He stressed how worried he had been when he found out she had been alone on the mountain, and she found herself able to believe him.

He tried in vain to get her to eat- she was still in no mood for it, finding her appetite had been entirely lost.

Nori escorted her out of the hospital as quickly as she could after that, predicting accurately that Mako would be stunned by her unusual forwardness, just as he was earlier when he let her in the room with no words spoken.

The two arrived at the mid-sized farm in the heart of Konohana together, and Nori took a few moments to explain where everything could be found (food, extra clothes to sleep in, a futon), and then did something Lillian never would have expected.

After receiving a change of clothes and sitting quietly around the dining table with a cup of hot green tea (about all Lillian could stomach), the tall young village girl pulled out a small piece of paper and started to write… or was she drawing?

Lillian was enraptured by what the other was doing. Nori didn't seem to be the type to do anything without purpose, so she found herself sitting still without asking any questions and just watching her draw.

Finally, she turned the paper upside down, added a few more lines to it, and slid it across the table without explaining it. There was emotion on her face that was difficult to understand, and Lillian got the idea that what Nori was doing was difficult for her. It looked like she was being brave somehow.

But what could it possibly be? There were odd icons, it was sort of like a series of images, almost a pattern? Trees lined the other images here and there, some randomly placed and others in order. The other shapes just didn't mean anything.

At the raised eyebrow from Lillian, the tall Konohanian made a small gesture.

Lillian understood it (still not sure why they were playing the quiet game) and set the paper down.

Nori pointed somewhere behind the where Lillian had set her tea, and she followed it with her eyes, seeing the side of a large wooden machine that dominated the great room of the shop.

Her other hand pointed to an image on the page that looked a lot like a drum…

And Lillian's eyes went wide- flying to search the other's face.

It was a map.

The drum on the page was her grandfather's seedmill- so, the shop here was the drum. The neat rows of trees below that was Mako's Orchard, and the river was indicated by a row of three small fish in a line.

Drawn entirely without roads, Lillian could see the whole town laid out. Wherever a road was supposed to begin, Nori had put a little flower. A horse and foal next to each other was the animal shop, and three turnips to the left represented the small unoccupied house and field across from it. All the way to right was a single lily flower.

That was the farm they were supposed to give her… she was the lily.

Nori smiled and pulled a similar paper from her yukata sleeve, this one having a bright pink thread coming from it, folded over with a tiny silver needle.

"I cross stitch in my spare time." She explained as she opened the new paper, showing Lillian a similar design that was a wheat field in bloom with mice and surrounded by adorable little cherry trees.

It was genius. A map to the village, hidden in plain sight as a needlepoint pattern. But why would she want to make it?

"It's not too late to make this in time for tomorrow." Nori said quietly.

"Too late for tomorrow?" Lillian could only repeat her words, feeling too tired to understand much more than this. She took a deep breath and a long gulp of the amazingly satisfying tea, setting the cup down empty.

Nori watched her as if she knew what she was thinking, and Lillian wanted to throw her hands up in the air. The day had been too long for all of this. It was a neat idea, but what was the point of it?

As if knowing her frustration, Nori leaned forward and whispered. "I can finish this tonight and give it to your brother tomorrow."

A light slowly dawned in amethyst eyes. "You mean to have Phillip find me?" She asked, incredulous. "Why would you…"

Instead of answering the unspoken question, the girl with jet black hair and obsidian eyes asked one of her own. "Can I trust your brother? Will he try to hurt us with this?"

Lillian slowly shook her head no. "He's not any happier than I am, I know that much. But there's no point in a thing like revenge. We would rather be alive and well than invest in a thing like war."

Nori breathed a slow sigh out and Lillian continued to speak. "Our habit when we end up somewhere unsafe is simple… we leave. There's… nothing here for us."

The girl's dark eyes shone with a touch of regret, but she nodded. "I'll do what I can while you're here to help you. Mako and the others… they aren't right. But please, don't hate them. It's true that our people here have lost so much, but you should never have to pay for their fear."

Lillian nodded, and both girls rose from the table at the same time. They knew the conversation was over, and neither one wanted to dwell on the inevitable.

…

The next morning both villages were ripe with anticipation for the competition. It was their only rule of honor in this war to participate and abide by the outcome of this weekly event. There had never been a day when either village did not stand by the decision of the celebrity judge about who had won the rights to use the summit and surrounding areas.

Pierre was always honest and gave each dish the same amount of time and the same chance to get a good score. He tasted dishes even when they were the wrong category for the contest, even though they weren't going to get a good mark. He was well respected by both sides for is impartial honesty.

Maybe that was why Nori had so been looking forward to making herb salad and challenging Bluebell at their own game- she knew Pierre would be able to tell that hers was better.

She dressed hurriedly in the morning in excitement and ran to the kitchen to make the tea and miso soup before her grandpa woke up. That way she could water the fields early and get started on her entry, making it as perfectly as possible.

Going through the motions of preparing breakfast was a comforting routine that she looked forward to every day. By the time she was done preparing everything, she usually had her whole day planned out in her mind and could work out any problems she was going to have to face.

Today didn't feel like the normal routine though, and she was having trouble placing the reason why. It felt like… she was forgetting something.

As she was carefully adding the tofu into the soup the events of the previous evening came rushing back to her all at once.

"Lillian!" She exclaimed, practically dropping the tofu in without another glance at it. She turned the gas down on the stove and went back to her room- to see the girl still deep asleep on the extra futon they had rolled out.

She breathed a sigh of relief, feeling more than a little dumb for not noticing her there when she woke up this morning.

The girl was safe, sleeping soundly.

After finishing their conversation, Lillian had laid her head down and fallen asleep right away while Nori stayed up longer to work on her needlepoint.

Nori had secretly hoped that they would stay up talking so she could learn more about the girl. In truth (despite the violent introduction yesterday) Nori really admired the passion that Lillian had. She had been willing to stand up against anyone and anything to get her family back together. It was the kind of courage that inspired her, and probably the reason she had the strength to stand up to the boys and tell them they were wrong.

For someone quiet like Nori, who couldn't even tell her grandpa that she didn't really want to take over the farm and seed shop, Lillian was almost easygoing in her honesty- like a spring breeze.

…

When Lillian finally woke up it felt like her body hadn't moved in a lifetime. She became self aware long before she found strength enough to open her eyes. A part of her was dreading that she was back in the little farm house after all, and it was only the sounds she kept hearing that convinced her she was somewhere else entirely.

She heard the steady rhythm of a large but simple machine echoing a few rooms away.

She heard the tinkling of a tiny bell when a store door opened and voices on occasion.

She tried placing the closest voice, but it was so quiet that she gave up.

Then she realized it was Nori's.

Her possibly actual friend, and if not at least the first real person she's met here. She bolted upright and stood- nearly slipping on the futon in the process.

Today was the cooking thingy!

She looked around for her clothes and saw the little Konohana outfit hanging on a small clothesline in front of the window. She grabbed it and put it on- it had an amazing freshly laundered smell- and rolled up the futon as quickly as she could.

When she cleaned up the room a bit she went to go through the door, and hesitated, suddenly feeling self conscious. For some reason she wanted Nori and her grandfather… to like her.

What a foreign concept.

Aside from Phillip, there was really no one that she'd wanted to be close to, not since they'd lost so much and moved so often. True, the people that ran the homeless shelter had been nice, and when they got odd jobs in places there was always a boss to impress or customers to help, but this was different. It was the first time in a while she actually found herself hoping to be close to someone.

She thought of Kana too for a moment, but let it pass. She didn't need friends like him.

Running to the bathroom real quick she brushed out the mess of her hair and stepped into the great room of the house (adjacent to the main storefront).

"Nori?" She called when she was finished.

"Over in the kitchen." Came the quiet voice she was slowly starting to recognize.

She wondered over, still feeling a bit awkward. There was a thick smell of onions in the air. The young girl stood over the counter, chopping in quick succession.

"Is that your dish for the cooking thing?" She asked.

Nori nodded. She finished slicing the fresh onions and ran them under some cool water quickly to cut down on their pungent scent. She dried off her hands on a towel and turned around. "I was going to make a better salad, but in all the chaos of the afternoon yesterday, I didn't get to find any mint."

Lillian thought for a moment. "So what happens if you can't make the better dish?"

"We could risk losing this week. That's alright though. I have faith in Yun- she runs the teahouse- her dish will be top notch." There was no disappointment in Nori's voice. "Besides, I'm not going to give up, either- the contest hasn't even started yet, and we do have the best vegetables. I can't wait to see the results of our hard work!"

They shared a smile, Lillian couldn't help it. The girl's attitude was infectious. What a nice change this was.

"So how did you sleep?" Nori asked.

"Like a rock." Lillian replied.

"You looked like a rock. You didn't even move."

"I'm still a little surprised I'm moving…" Lillian admitted, fixing her wide red headband better in her tawny and chestnut hair. "I would've walked all the way to Bluebell, even if it killed me."

Nori nodded. "I know. Still, I'm sorry."

Lillian shook her head. "You don't have to be. I must've been delirious. Thanks." She smiled again. "Besides, this way I know I might get to see him…" Her voice trailed off, lost in thought. "Actually- hey!"

Nori jumped a bit. "Yes?"

"I gathered a bunch of greens in the forest that I thought might be edible. Do you want to look and see if one of them can be used in your recipe?"

Nori smiled in appreciation, but her hesitation was obvious. "Thank you kindly, but you earned those, I didn't."

Lillian frowned. "I don't care about that. Look."

She pushed her rucksack into the other's hands, surprising her a bit.

"I… I couldn't."

"Really." She smiled to assure her. "I didn't even know what was edible. I guess these ones are actually weeds?" She pulled a bunch of tall onion-like stalks out of it and said sheepishly, "I thought they were chives. I guess I have a lot to learn about plants."

Nori smiled a little and relented with a shy nod.

"You go ahead and look." Lillian instructed. "I'm going to see if your grandpa needs anything right now."

Before the taller girl could stop her, Lillian was out of sight.

Nori smiled to herself.

_She's a kind girl, after all…_

…

Later on they set out together for the contest, Nori proudly carrying a stack of covered dishes (She had made three different kinds of salad, and was going to decide which one looked better when they crested the summit- in case anything wilted). Thankfully there had been plenty of mint among the weeds and mushrooms in the rucksack, so Nori was able to make her herb salad after all, and that was most likely what she was going with today.

Lillian had spent the better part of her morning working with the girl's adorable grandfather Gombe in the field learning to till and plant (although she insisted she didn't need to learn it), and finally finished the watering just in time to leave with the main group of villagers.

It turned out Sheng didn't attend these things all the time, so she stopped in briefly to thank him and gave him another bamboo stalk in greeting, making him grin from ear to ear.

He was strange, but for some reason Lillian felt better after meeting him. Not only was it going to be easy to bribe him to leave whenever there was bamboo around, he seemed oblivious to the fact that she was an outsider.

On the other hand, Mako sat proudly saddled on the other side of the group, eyeing her interaction with Gombe. There was brief eye contact between the two, and Lillian couldn't stop herself from sticking out her tongue at him. The older man looked away as if nothing had happened, showing her his eyepatch instead.

Typical.

A kind looking elder woman came up to Nori with a covered dish and a smile. That must be Yun.

Kana joined the group from the other side -on a different horse today? This animal seemed to step confidently and more carefully, somehow. Lillian wasn't sure what made her notice.

She saw him scan the crowd until his eyes fell on her, which for some reason made her heart beat a little bit faster.

He looked away quickly just as Mako had, another person pretending they didn't hold her in contempt?

For some reason this made Lillian's blood boil, and she found herself marching over in his direction-

"Awright everyone, let's get going!" Kana suddenly yelled, getting the group's attention. The Konohanians cheered and started heading out- the back end of Mako's mount vanishing into the forest first.

Well that stopped her advance. Did he do that on purpose? She decided to yell at him later for avoiding her.

Or did she need to avoid him because he kept acting like a jerk?

Whatever, it was too confusing. Nevermind already!

Lillian decided to put him out of her mind and focus on finding her brother today.

If he wasn't at the summit for the contest, she needed to find a way to slip past- well, everyone- and get to the other side.

She hoped it wouldn't come to more fighting.

Then again, a part of her hoped it would.


	20. Chapter 20: Get Up Here!

_Author's Note: For those of you who are waiting for Phillip and Lillian to be reunited- thank you for your feedback. These last few chapters have been a little bit longer because I have to show you how everyone is changing, so that the story doesn't seem forced later. I didn't think it would take this long either, but there were a few people whose motivations I want to better understand, so I stayed with them a bit. _

_My feeling is that this will pay off later, and I plan for the pace of the story to pick up very soon. _

_Thanks and always feel free to tell me what you think!_

_..._

_..._

Phillip's legs couldn't carry him fast enough. He marched ahead with the group from Howard's café- Cam, Laney, Howard, Georgia and her father.

There was too much on his mind to enjoy casual conversation, so he was silent for the trip to the summit, which nobody seemed to mind.

Laney was keeping pace carefully with Cam, as if she felt unsafe being more than a few feet away from him. Phillip wasn't so full of himself that he'd believe she was avoiding him, but there was a part of him that regretted being so bold with her the previous day. Even though she appeared strong and reliable, and was clearly a hard worker, the swiftness in which his honesty had made her uncomfortable told a different tale than her outward appearance. When he'd asked her to start over, he'd meant it.

As he watched the two walking he noticed how comfortable she and Cam really were, and was able to witness their friendship. It was as if Laney was letting down her guard and able to relax.

There was a pattern within Bluebell. The outward appearance meant everything here. Georgia and Laney seemed to get along fine, but the few times Phillip had walked past one of their afternoon conversations, had noticed with some surprise the intense politeness of it.

Even the expressions on some people's faces (notably Cam, Jessica and Rose), held an air of constant performance. Not as if they didn't want to be open with other people exactly, but more like there was a general opinion that no one would understand if they did.

Phillip rolled his eyes at himself. _That's not the sort of thing that should matter to me_, he thought. _This whole place has about, one more hour of my time, unless by some miracle…_

He stopped walking for a moment.

Was he… worried about these people, now? Concerned for them?

_It must just be because I know what they've all gone through_, his mind sang out as if mocking him._ You care about them… you want to help… they aren't forcing you to do anything anymore_…

He looked around, slowly starting to walk again.

Howard was lively, and kept going out of his way to explain the importance of different ingredients to whomever would listen, and occasionally pouted to several people in the group that they hadn't participated in a while. Jessica and Laney had brought dishes, and so escaped his nagging wrath.

Rose and Jessica made up the heart of the Bluebell group, talking quietly to each other like old friends, and Ash and his family walked a few minutes behind them, Cheryl running circles around her brother as per usual.

One thing that was noticeable at the front was the terse tones Grady was using to speak with his daughter while they went along. Georgia and he rode slightly ahead of the group, and Phillip couldn't help but feel like she was being admonished for something.

He was out of earshot, so he feigned indifference to the whole thing to be polite, but it was sort of funny to see someone with such a forceful personality being tempered by an elder. She seemed to respect her father, and even her arguing was polite.

It was sort of endearing to watch them.

_So this is what a family is like_.

A break in his focus came when Ash made his way to the front of the group and fell in step with him, Cheryl calling from behind to remind him that there were butterflies to catch.

Ash smiled easily at his sister over his shoulder. "I got it! You look for them on the left; I'll check the right while we climb!"

"Okay!" The cheerful voice answered with a childlike faith. "I haven't gotten a Mayama Swallowtail yet!"

Once Cheryl was satisfied that her brother was still going to help her look, Ash turned his attention to the newcomer. "So, we haven't spoken a lot…"

Phillip kept looking straight ahead. "Right."

"Right. Heh. So, I just wanted to see how you've been doing."

Phillip scanned the sky and thought about it for a moment. "I'm keeping out of trouble." He answered.

Ash nodded. "Yeah I noticed. I'd be tearing this place apart if I were you." His voice held a note of conspiracy. "I'm glad you've been helping out despite everything that's happened."

Phillip finally turned and looked the other guy in the eye. "I've been feeding chickens and watching a few flowers grow." Suddenly he thought better of his tone, and added, "Cam knows the woods well, so he'd been helping me search for her in the meantime."

"He… had been? It's not like Cam to cut out early. Did something happen?"

"Well, we know she's not been where I can reach her." He flicked his auburn hair out of his face as if indifferent. "I'm only coming along today in case Kana keeps his word."

Ash's bright eyes darkened at the news. "You've been talking to them?"

A shrug. "Just the once. Does it matter?"

The straw-haired farmboy was speechless. Of course it mattered. Did he really have to explain something like that?

Phillip waved to Ash in parting and walked ahead, not wanting to bother with where this conversation was going. This was not the place or time for an argument.

Before he could get far, Ash caught up. "I can't believe you talked to him, him of all people!" He said under his breath.

"So? That's the only way to figure your enemy out isn't it, to go find out about them." A small smile tugged the corner of his mouth up. "Don't tell me you've never tried just talking to them."

"It's not that…" Ash began, backpedaling. "We want to keep the peace, that's all."

"Your peace is a fraud." Phillip said simply. "Especially if it can be broken by a single conversation."

The young farmer looked down at his feet while they walked. "I don't see it that way…"

Phillip's smile became patient. "Would you let your sister play outside without you? Do you walk the mountain alone?"

"Well, no… but I don't need to. Our village is safe, we can be free within it's walls."

"Okay." Phillip suddenly threw his hands up in irritation, giving up on him. "You can say whatever you like about it. It's just… a little depressing is all."

That got Ash's attention. "What do you mean, depressing?!" He clenched a fist at his side without realizing he was doing it.

Philip eyed him carefully, wondering if he was the type to accept the truth, wondering why he was bothering, as an outsider, to inject his opinions into everything recently. This place was getting under his skin. "Well, it's ironic."

"What is?"

"The fact that you all keep yourselves imprisoned the same way you're keeping me. Under close watch, everyone nervous to know the other people's business, like you all don't… trust each other." He finished, waiting for the kid to have a temper tantrum like his sister.

Ash simply grew quiet- probably in thought- and said simply "That's your opinion," before marching ahead to greet the rest of his friends.

…

It didn't take them long to reach the summit, because everyone was excited and walking quickly, they easily lost track of time.

For Phillip it took forever. But finally, there were the two Mayors, standing side by side to the entrance of the courtyard. The tall pillars topped in orange flame burned behind them, and everything was covered in flowers and ribbons.

For a moment he understood how it must have been long ago when everyone got along well… to have feasts and dancing and competitions up here must have been amazing.

The Mayor from Konoahana looked his way and took him out of his musings. She stared with a fierce confidence, her expression severe and posture statuesque. She barely moved while she waited for her group and looked as if she had been cut from stone. Her raven hair fell over ivory features and framed an apple-shaped face, devoid of humor. She didn't look mean exactly, she just didn't have a look like 'nice' was a concept worthy of her attention.

He watched as the Bluebell villagers all greeted Rutger one by one to gain admittance, until it was just him standing alone in front of them.

Rutger adjusted his tiny top hat and stepped forward to say something, but at the same time Phillip approached Ina, putting out his hand. Rutger stopped, confused.

"I'm Phillip; I'm new on the mountain." He tried the friendly approach.

Ina looked him over and then gave him a small nod. "I'm afraid if you'd like to participate in the contest, you must do so under your own village's guidance." She let her eyes rake over Rutger, who shrugged in a carefree way as if nothing she could do would ever trouble him.

"Don't bother with her." Rutger said from the side. "Come join the rest of us- our special guest judge will be here any moment!"

Phillip looked past his supposed mayor and shook his head. "I'm waiting for someone first." He said. "I'm sure you know that."

"Oh… of course."

And so he turned and they waited, with palpable silence that hung over the entrance to the courtyard as if dangling from a weight and ready to drag everything in its path down with it. It felt like the scarlet-clad Mayor (Mayoress? Whatever they called lady Mayors) was staring a hole in the back of his head. He felt the hairs rise up on his neck, but he stood his ground in abject patience.

Phillip was a bit surprised when Cam came out to check on him after some time had passed.

In his normal way, the tall florist strode over and met his gaze, saying nothing and adjusting his plaid hat. They looked on together, over a wide chasm that spanned beyond the mountain's path.

Phillip decided to speak first. "Is Laney going to be okay with you leaving her side like that?"

A fraction of a smile broke the boredom on Cam's face. "She's fine with me, it's you she's mad at."

Phillip shrugged. "At least she's done pretending."

"For the moment." Cam agreed.

The shorter guy chuckled at that.

After that, the two waited quietly, the Mayors standing like permanent fixtures behind them.

Just when Phillip thought he couldn't wait any longer, he felt his breath catch at the sound of distant hoofbeats.

_Finally. Get up here!_

…

Lillian had endured a lot in the last few days. Too much to really figure out right now. The one thing that held her thoughts together was up there waiting.

They needed to move faster.

Her heartbeat quickened when they passed the waterfall and she realized that this had been where she'd fallen from, where Kana had found her. It was steep and rocky. How had she survived something like that with no broken bones?

She looked for him, for a second, not knowing why she did it. He was still bringing up the rear of the group, and she silently stood for a moment while other people passed her by.

Nori was the first to stop, followed by Hiro. They didn't say anything as if they new what was going on inside her mind.

"I'm glad you're okay now." Hiro finally said, excusing himself with a nod.

Nori went to follow him, but hesitated.

Lillian gave her a small smile. "I'll be fine." She assured the other girl.

Nori nodded too then and moved on with the rest of the group.

She decided it was time to face Kana. They would be leaving soon, she might not… actually see him after this. She steeled herself, and when he finally noticed she was standing on the bridge alone, he stopped too. His horse gave out a patient snort when he halted.

Lillian watched the rest of the group continue and just looked at him for a moment.

He put his hand up to the back of his head without facing her. "We're going to be late, yeah?"

"Yeah." She said, surprising herself. "We can be a little late."

The sound of the waterfall's beat echoed through the canyon below, and he edged his horse closer to her.

"We really can't be… Ina wouldn't appreciate it. Gotta do the right thing and go."

She turned her body to face him directly. "Make me go." She challenged, an edge in her voice.

"Wha-? What are you talking about?" He nearly jumped back in his saddle, looking thoroughly confused. "Don't you want to go this time? Isn't there someone you want to see?"

"That's not the point."

"Then quit being difficult." He said. "We can both ride to catch up." He scooted forward and gestured for her hand. "Hop on."

She stared at the outstretched hand.

"C'mon… you're really going to stand there all day?"

Lillian ran shook her head lightly, shaking her chestnut hair away from her face and folded her arms across her chest.

_Make me_.

She was waiting to see him for what he was. "Now is the time to be honest with me, Kana."

He put his hand back to his side. "Alright." He said, guarded. "What is it you think I'm not being honest about?"

"Everything."

"Everything? You need to be more specific than that."

"Than answer a few questions."

What was the point of all this? He decided to indulge her for a moment. "I'll answer one or two, and then we're-"

"No. Answer everything. Or I won't go with you and you'll have to force me."

He grimaced. "Fine, ask." He said through gritted teeth.

"Why did you really lock my door?"

"I told you already."

"To protect the village?"

"Yes."

She mumbled something he didn't hear. She moved on to the next question. "Nori said yesterday that the farm I've been given is 'difficult'. What did she mean by it?"

"It's the least safe property in our town, after Sheng's. It makes up the perimeter and is more vulnerable to attack. It's been raided many times in the past, and it will take quite a lot of work for it to reach its true potential again."

She let that sink in, trying not to fiddle with her jacket. This was uncomfortable for her as well as it was for him, but it would be worse somehow, not to know.

"Have you been assigned as the person in charge of keeping me in Konohana? Is that why I've seen you everyday?"

His brandy brown eyes met hers and he searched her face. "Sort of."

"Sort of?" She looked down. Was she disappointed?

He rolled his hands over the reigns, eager to get going for some reason. "Yes, Ina asked me, but I would have offered anyways."

She looked up sharply. "Why?"

"Because I… well, it makes sense."

She raised an eyebrow. "Keeping someone against their will makes sense to you?"

"No! I… I was going to check on you anyways, not- argh, Nevermind. Next question!"

"Next question? You're afraid to answer?"

He glared at her.

She frowned, but changed topics. "Hiro said that…"

If she was waiting for him to prompt her she would be waiting for a very long time. She plucked up more courage and asked. "Hiro said that you… came to visit me everyday when I was at the clinic."

He felt his cheeks warm up slightly. "That's right."

"Why?"

"To make sure you opened your eyes." He said easily.

She opened up her mouth but nothing came out, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to say to something like that.

"Can we go now? I'm going to get in trouble." He reached for her hand again, and this time she took it, letting him pull her up on his horse.

His horse huffed as if it was carrying two people too many, but started back up the path with no trouble.

Lillian sat behind him, her hands resting on his shoulders, her fingers afraid to really hold on. "Kana…" She began nervously.

There was so much more that she wanted to ask him.

_Where did you go the last few days- is this who you really are? Or was that you, last night?_

He turned his head as they passed the waterfall, leaving the bridged canyon behind them. The horse's hoofbeats fell into softness on the cool earthen path below, and his long hair tickled her face when he turned to hear her better. "Yes?"

"About last night…"

He clenched the reigns in a fist and she felt his back straighten up. "I'm sorry." Was all he said.

They rode in silence the rest of the way.


	21. Chapter 21: Fear and Ambition

Chapter 21: Fear and Ambition

Mako was ahead of the group, and the first to encounter Phillip again.

He could see the tension on the young man's face as Konohana approached the summit, could feel the intense accusation of his stare. There was something else there too, that the boy probably thought he'd hidden away. Hope, and desperation.

The dark rider halted his stallion and dismounted off to the right, tying up his horse and moving on without reacting to Phillip. He wore his normal bemused expression that resembled the face of an old wily cat.

Phillip watched him pass by with his cool grey eyes, not moving an inch.

The rest of the Konohana villagers arrived shortly after, most of them indifferent to his presence.

He spent the moments it took for each one to greet the Lady Mayor trying to memorize their faces, looking for odd behavior, anything that could help him later. A few of them did glance his way discreetly; one girl with very long black hair stopped several feet away and looked over shyly.

Phillip felt his face heat up, but kept watching her.

_Nice to meet you too_, he thought.

She bowed lightly, and was ushered on by an elderly woman with a kind face.

As the villagers from the crimson side of the conflict filtered past, Phillip was struck by the lack of actual muscle they seemed to possess. Aside from Mako and that obnoxious guy Kana, no one stood out as having an affinity for conflict, let alone looking prepared to fight today.

It occurred to him that this festival may well be the keeper of hope for both sides to practice peace, that the shroud of its comforting rhythm allowed them to rebuild safety into the conflict and stability into their lives.

That, and with its rules in place there was the added convenience of not having to lift a finger to work towards peace.

He tapped his foot impatiently, thinking about it.

Where was she?

Finally, the last person strode past, a tall Doctor with short black hair and a beauty mark, the second person to look him equally in the face.

Her confidence was evident even in her posture, and he found himself walking over to her just as she was getting ready to greet Ina.

"Pardon me," He said as if he needed to get her attention. "There's someone I'm looking for, was there anyone else with your group…?"

Her dark eyes opened up in surprise. "I can't imagine who? Unless…" Her smile was sly, but not challenging.

He clenched his teeth, taking the bait. "Unless…?"

"Unless you know our Lillian." She said with a touch of sweetness.

The corner of his eye twitched slightly, and she chuckled.

She clasped her hands behind her in open relaxation. "You must be Phillip? Her brother? How are you?"

He just stared at her, not expecting the warmth. He found himself being honest despite himself. "Not well." He ended up admitting in a low voice. He looked over around the woman's tall frame.

"Is she…?"

The woman followed the path of his eyes. "Oh? She was just walking with Nori before, but I don't see Kana either. Perhaps they stopped a moment? I'm sure they'll be along."

_I don't see Kana either_.

Phillip ran his hands through his auburn hair in angry frustration.

The Doctor peered at him, then suddenly put her hand out. "I'm Ayame."

He shook it, watching her carefully. This was the enemy? "Phillip." He said, mumbling. "Obviously…"

"Well, it's a pleasure!" The woman excused herself and went into the courtyard, but the young man barely noticed her departure, his monochromatic gaze piercing the distance beyond with renewed intensity.

How long was he going to have to wait before he ended up just charging back down the Konohana side of the mountain? Did they leave guards, more big guys like before, just out of sight from the tree line?

Cam appeared at his side again as a large sepia horse came clipping over the hill at a trot, bearing a single rider.

Kana.

Even as he listened to the cadence of hooves on dirt road, Phillip's heart stopped beating.

Just then a little chestnut head appeared around the rider's back. "Are we here? I can't see anything!"

There were two people on the horse!

His heart kickstarted violently. She was okay… she was alive…

"Lillian." He said, a terrible weight lifting from his chest. He raised his voice, not realizing his throat had become this dry. "Lillian!" He called.

Her Lilac eyes, bright in the sun, dashed over to him. "Phillip!" She exclaimed so loudly Kana's ears rang.

"Get over here!" Phillip had to resist the urge to stomp his foot petulantly, but the anxiety that laced his voice was enough.

Kana stayed in the saddle while she slid down from behind, her brother already there and enveloping her in his arms. "My God is it good to see you." He admitted into her hair.

She didn't say anything. He felt tears on his shoulder and her hug was tight- but for the moment it didn't seem terribly important to breathe anyways.

Kana's hands gripped the reigns in a fist after he dismounted, but he took his old mare over to the side to tie it up, ignoring- whatever emotion this was. A part of him wanted to let them have the moment, the other part felt… well it didn't matter. Bringing her here was the right decision.

Watching the two together made him sure of it. No matter how hard it was for him to watch.

"I love you so much," Phillip said fiercely, before loosening the hug.

There was a pause, and through her tears, Lillian started to laugh. "Then try not to launch me out of any more pony carts, you dummy."

His eyes went wide. "That's not fair, you know I -" And he stopped at the expression on her face.

She looked so very happy, her bright eyes still swimming with emotion. She was not good at saying her feelings, so he could tell this was an effort on her part to keep herself together.

He raised an eyebrow. "Well you were the navigator." He accused. "You should've just… navigated us around it. Then I wouldn't have had to speed up like that-"

"What? Says the one leading the poor animal all over that dangerous road. How dare you!"

He laughed. "It doesn't matter who did what."

And his tone changed instantly, sobering. "Are you…okay?" He glanced over to where Kana stood looking on with his arms crossed, his horse nuzzling his pockets looking for treats.

Lillian shrugged. "Are you?"

He smiled a little. "Good point."

"I heard you had a hard time, though. But I didn't know what it meant…?"

She blinked. "Who did you-" But from the way her brother was looking over at the hitching post, she could hazard a guess. "Did Kana tell you something?"

"Not much. That guy is useless."

Her voice rose a little. "When did you talk to Kana?"

"Why, what happened?"

"Well- I just woke up, so I…"

"Just woke up from what?"

She looked down. "I guess they… found me near the river, unconscious. Well, Kana did, really. I only woke up a little over two days ago. I was in their clinic this whole time." She shrugged at the end of her speech as if she was over it and not worried.

Which of course was going to cause him more worry later.

The whole thing took a minute to sink in completely, but it explained her paler-than-usual skin color.

He watched Kana again, trying to get a read on his actual role in it. It explained why he was being so possessive. He reached out and gave her another small hug. "I'm sorry, Lil."

"Thanks," She said. "It's okay now, really."

He held her shoulders out at arm's length. "No, it isn't! Does anything still hurt from that?" He moved her hair from her face and looked at her carefully, searchingly. He turned her head side to side. "You've always been the clumsy one, so if-"

She waved him off. "I'm fine … just a bit tired…" Then what he said last registered in her mind. "Hey!"

"Alright, alright, it is true, though."

"W- well if I have to be clumsy than you can be the one with terrible instincts- who speeds up to clear an obstruction?!"

He pinched her cheeks and she slapped his arm. "Stop it!"

He laughed. "Looks like you're not doing too badly after all."

"Whatever!" She huffed.

Kana walked over then, and Phillip's whole demeanor changed from relaxed to irritated. Lillian was just looked at him and mouthed_ what's wrong with you?_

But he was ignoring her by then, looking over her shoulder. "Kana, was it?"

Kana stopped and addressed to the two. "I think the contest is about to begin. Let's go in, yeah?"

Phillip made a face. What kind of motivational speech was 'yeah?' He wondered if that supposed to make them feel like participating.

Lillian looked back and forth for a moment. "Kana, this is my-"

"We've met." Kana cut her off.

"Okay…" There was irritation in her voice now, too. "And Phillip, you've met my watchdog, Kana."

Kana sighed, a little too dramatically for her taste, and just scratched his head as if he wasn't listening.

_He's such a bad actor_, mused Phillip, before nodding at the other guy. "I see they allow patrolmen to keep their word on that side of the mountain. It's a good sign."

"Yeah. It's very exciting." The taller guy said with complete apathy. "Don't forget the rest of what we discussed. Lillian, you ready?"

Lillian looked over her shoulder to where Kana stood. "Nope!" She said, smiling roguishly. We're just getting started here I think."

Kana recognized the same tone she had used earlier on the bridge.

_Make me go_…

He decided to wait a while longer. She was just getting back at him for the last few days and he didn't really want to make a scene now, when she finally looked happy. Come to think of it, she hadn't looked this at peace, even when she had been asleep in the clinic.

Her smile became more genuine when she realized she could trust him this much, not to press the issue and embarrass himself. For all his brashness, there was a bit of common sense after all.

Lillian suddenly realized there was another person standing with them this whole time. Not that she had been paying close attention to her surroundings.

The guy was probably just a bit older than the twins, and wore tidy clothing in an impeccably loose way; his long grey shirt was unbuttoned lazily at the collar and untucked from his navy slacks, and decorated by a long thin faint yellow tie with a low, tight knot that smacked of intentional half-dressing. He had unusual taste, and wore an orchid-colored vest that matched his hat in hounds tooth pattern with alternating shades of plum and violet.

She couldn't tell if the expression on his face was more of a smile or a frown, and before she caught herself she realized she had begun to stare at him.

He realized at the same time too, and orbs the color of clear emeralds shifted to her with curiosity.

Maybe he just joined the group and she hadn't noticed him in her excitement. Either way, she knew Phillip didn't usually have striking older friends to hang out with: she would have paid more attention to his friendships.

"Are you going to introduce me?" She asked Phillip, flipping her hair impatiently. "There's a festival going on if you haven't noticed and we don't have all day."

"Oh, right! I have a watchdog too. This is Cam."

_Such a simple explanation_… She thought. _That wasn't very helpful_. For a second she felt like staying for the festival to find out more about him, which was absurd. She wondered if he was always at these things, or if being responsible for Phillip was the reason he was here today.

If Cam cared about his new nickname he didn't show it. A cordial smile was in his eyes more than his lips and he tipped his hat to her. "Nice to meet you. Do you come here often?" He asked.

Lillian started giggling and nearly snorted, not able to help herself. Was he serious? "That was corny!" She told him.

"Was it? Sorry about that." He shrugged, chuckling, hands in his pockets. "Anyway nice to meet you…"

Phillip eyed him suspiciously. "Don't get any ideas." He said under his breath.

Cam's eyes lit up at that. "I try to never have ideas about anything important." He replied.

The tall Bluebeller locked eyes with Kana for a moment. "How are you today, Kana?"

Lillian got the impression that Cam couldn't care less about how Kana was doing.

"Looking forward to taking back what belongs to us." Kana said cryptically.

Cam strode forward, putting the twins behind him. Leaning in close to Kana he said, "Now, I wonder what you really mean by that." Kana kept his arms folded over his chest. "Surely you're only discussing the territory over the summit. If you're talking about"- ahem- "people, then it's only fair to warn you that I will be the first to stand in your way."

"Get out of my face." The other barked. "You'll have a hard time keeping anything we want from us. There's no muscle in Bluebell anymore. The only reason we don't just take your little town over is because we don't need it for anything."

The tall blond guy kept his hands in his pockets for the whole exchange as if he were completely relaxed. He could have been talking to an old friend even, from how calm he sounded. "Well, that's a relief. I'll be able to sleep better knowing your lack of ambition is what keeps you from walking more than a few feet from your doorstep, and not your abject fear of what would happen to your town should you act rashly."

It was safe to say that Kana had an issue with his impulsive temper, in that he instantaneously shot his leg out into Cam's kneecap.

Cam twisted to the side at the last second, evading it. "That's right." He said. "Face your fears, Kana. Because we're not going to back down and we're ready for you any time you feel like making a visit. Just be sure to come by my shop later on for the floral arrangements."

Kana nearly snapped at that, and came out swinging. He threw a right hook that was sidestepped, and finally connected with the back of his fist against the other's temple.

Cam staggered backwards, but shot his arms upward, catching the fist as it returned. In a swift motion he twisted Kana's arm backwards- but the larger guy just pulled, getting out of it swiftly.

The two stood back for a moment, looking each other over.

Both were breathing hard, Kana moreso as he was more used to training with a mount than on the ground. The florist (who finally had to take his hands out of his pockets) was more adept at hand to hand combat than with weapons or animals. He stretched his arms over his head, bored of the game. "Well, that was fun. I'm going in now."

He looked over at Phillip as if to ask something, then merely walked away as if nothing had happened.

Lillian watched him go, bemused. "He's kind of weird, huh?" She asked Phillip, who tilted his head in thought.

She turned to Kana, then, who wore an intense frown on his handsomely tanned features. "You alright?" She felt the need to ask.

He didn't say anything.

Fine, whatever…! "Okay, I'm ready to go inside." She announced, making her way to Ina. Ina had her hands on her hips and she looked on confidently, not noticing the girl at first. "Good to see so much energy in the young generation!" She commented as Lil decided just to walk right past and not talk back.

Phillip followed on the Rutger side (who had watched the episode with a wrinkled foreheadl), wondering why Lil had gone into the festival. Didn't she know that now was the chance to leave- before it finished?

Unless they were still so alike that they were starting to agree about this place?

He didn't want to get his hopes up though, she was probably just being absent-minded and was escaping the tense atmosphere that floated just under the bright, cloudless sky outside the courtyard.

Kana stood outside for a moment before stalking in to join his side, saying nothing else.


End file.
